Day of the Dead
by ChaseOfSpades
Summary: The foursome that survived the mall get to an island were they find a military silo that is busy trying to find a cure for the plague that has infested the world. How will the cabin fever struck military personnel handle the newcomers?
1. The Silo

Author's Notes: I am trying to tie the new movie Dawn of the Dead to the old movie Day of the Dead into a remake that I hope everyone will enjoy. I still have many stories that I want to finish and/or update so it might be a while before another chapter is posted from this one unless I get some good feed back. Thank you.  
  
Summary: The foursome that survived the mall get to an island were they find a military silo that is busy trying to find a cure for the plague that has infested the world. How will the cabin fever struck military personal handle the newcomers?  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Ana hadn't been at all surprised to see the mass of moving bodies just beyond the trees. The idea of a safe haven island was just too good to be true and there was no point in getting her hopes up. Terry and Nicole felt much differently about the subject. They'd figured that the island would be abandoned and the couple would get to have the well- deserved privacy that they had wanted since they'd gotten together.  
  
Kenneth pumped his shotgun again, sending the third empty shell to the ground, and then he fired into the chest of another flesh eater. There were over thirty of them running at the group and they didn't have enough ammo to fight them off. On the flipside they didn't have enough gas to make it to another island.  
  
"Come on you assholes!", a male's voice yelled out from the other side of the crowd of monsters. "Come and get it!"  
  
Multiple rounds fired from an automatic rifle and seven of the reanimated people fell down shaking. Kenneth was the first one to see the three men in camouflage firing at the things. It was also Kenneth that realized that it was a good chance they'd get fired on too.  
  
"Hey!" Kenneth yelled out so that they would be recognized as human. He loaded another few shells into the shotgun and fired them into the air.  
  
"Clear em' a path boys!" A different voice said above the moans of the undead. Suddenly there was an explosion of gunfire that left a hole in the crowd. Without hesitation, Kenneth rushed for the hole and Ana took Nicole by the hand. The foursome rushed over to the rest of the people and found that there was a small shack that was made out of reinforced metal.  
  
"Go through the doors", one of the men said he fired a few more shells into the head of another monster. "Head for the elevator and wait."  
  
They followed his orders and pulled open the door. The room itself was very boring and even more humid. Drops of sweat started beading down their backs almost instantly and the buzz of flies just added to the effect. There was a shelf on the far wall that held some empty jars and a small panel of steel in the center of the floor. Next to the steel square there was a small remote.  
  
Just as they'd all taken in their surroundings the three military men walked into the building with grins on their faces. They seemed too cocky to have just walked inside from a world full of zombies. One of them walked over to the remote and stepped on the metal square.  
  
"All aboard", he said with a cocky grin. He was dark headed with a rough beard and dark eyes. The other two both had blonde hair and blue eyes.  
  
All seven of the people stepped on to the platform and the dark headed man hit a button that sent the elevator down. The light disappeared completely for a few seconds and then it slowly returned to a dim glow as the entered a cavern of some sort.  
  
"What is this place?" Ana asked.  
  
"This place is our last hope", the dark headed man snapped at her. The look in his eyes showed more anger than they should have. There was a fire deep in them that gave him a scary glow. Ana decided that she'd let it go for the time being but she wanted to know, in detail, what was going on there.  
  
"This is a military research facility, the last one of seven that were placed all over America when the epidemic started. We are the last hope", one of the blonde men said to Ana. She liked him already. In a strange way he reminded her of Michael.  
  
Terry wrapped his arms about the shivering Nicole and she buried her face in his shoulder. It was cold but that wasn't the reason that her body was convulsing. They'd both gotten their hopes up and there they were, stuck inside once again.  
  
Kenneth stood tall next to the dark headed man and looked down at him, almost a challenge and they all saw it. The dark headed man started Kenneth in the eyes until the elevator came to a stop. "Welcome to the compound. I'm in charge here and anyone that has a problem with that", he paused just long enough to give a quick glance up and down Kenneth's body, "can go back outside and become lunch for one of those things. Any questions?" 


	2. The Meeting

Chapter 2  
  
"This is project HOPE, a last minute scramble put together by the U.S. Government to try and stop those monsters in their tracks." The dark haired man said to the group that had gathered at a MESS hall table. The table was cold and metal and it stretched down the room so that everyone could find a seat. The dark haired man had addressed himself as Sgt. Ashton Wilkers, the leader of the military personnel.  
  
There were three other military men that sat behind Wilkers as he spoke. Two of them were the blondes that had found the foursome in the first place. The first of the two was Wilson, a mid-thirties man with a growing beard and dark blue eyes. There was something about the look in his eyes made Ana cringe. The second one was named Phil, a slightly smaller guy than Wilson. Ana thought that he looked a lot like Michael only he had blonde hair. The fact that he resembled a recently desist man that she'd started to fall for made her upset.  
  
The third of the military personnel was much younger than the others and seemed to be slightly excluded from the rest. He had short red-brown that made him look younger than he was. Although he was in his mid- twenties, he looked like he was only eighteen.  
  
All of the men wore assault rifles around their necks and black jumpsuits that made them blend in with the dark surroundings. The silo was much like a cave that had been colonized in that the walls were mostly made of dark rock and the ground was very much the same. Few lights hung from the ceiling that gave off just enough light to make the surroundings very eerie.  
  
There were two scientists that sat closer to the four survivors than to anyone else. One was an elderly man, Dr. Jason Moran, in his sixties. He had silver hair and a widow's peak that made him look like a grandpa that you'd see sitting on a porch. His white lab coat almost diminished the old man effect and made him look more like a science teacher. Wearing a big, dopey smile that looked like it'd been painted on, he twiddled his thumbs as Wilkers gave his speech.  
  
The other of the two scientists was a very attractive female in her late twenties. She had called herself Dr. Juliet Jones and seemed to put emphasis on the doctor part. She too wore a lab coat, although hers clung tightly to her body. She had long, wavy brown hair that showed blonde streaks that ran from top to bottom. She was very beautiful and watched Wilkers and his crew with a strange gaze in her eyes.  
  
"We are all a member of Project HOPE, including you"; he pointed at the foursome. His eyes stuck on Kenneth for just a second longer than everyone else. "We've done many experiments and lost many men to the monsters outside. Don't you think for one Goddamn second that I won't put a bullet in your heads if you don't pull your weight around here."  
  
He took a seat at the head of the table just as Dr. Jones stood up. "As most of you know, today will mark the fourth month of our stay here in the silo and it is time for us to review what progress we've made." She turned to face Dr. Moran. "Although Dr. Jason Moran and I have differences in opinions, we both agree that we are only months away from closing in on the key to our survival."  
  
"Are you telling us that you've found a way to blast those motherfuckers to hell?" Phil looked overly eager. The look in his eyes was a mix of pain and joy, terror and glee.  
  
"I'll let you take a look at our review videos and you can make your own minds up. Please, everyone take notes and I will answer any questions at the end of the tape." She walked off into the darkness and returned with a rolling stand that had a television perched on top. She popped a videocassette into a VCR that sat on the television.  
  
After hitting the play button, Dr. Jones sat back in her seat and watched with everyone else. The TV started to play a blue screen with a few words spread across. "Test Number 12", the words made it obvious as to what the video was.  
  
Terry put his arm around Nicole and she rest her head on his shoulder; they weren't worried about taking notes. Kenneth looked over at Ana and noticed that she looked extraordinarily tired. He shook it off and turned his attention back to the TV.  
  
The screen jumped to a group of those things, wandering around. Suddenly a dog walked into the view of the camera and the monsters didn't seem to notice. The Crossroad survivors had found out long ago that the monsters didn't seem to care about dogs very much. This test was proven by Chips, the dog that Nicole brought with them to the silo.  
  
"We called this the Kamikaze K-9 test"; Dr. Jones piped in from her seat. The name along made Nicole turn into Terry's shoulder, taking her eyes away from the TV as she did so. The dog on the screen wore a large pack around its back that had a few wires dangling from it in random places.  
  
Just as the dog was in the center of the mass of monsters the pack made a high-pitched beep noise and then the pack exploded in a large blast of orange and red. Most of the monsters went down in flames but a few still walked around will on fire.  
  
"This test was proven a failure due to the fact that there aren't enough dogs to breed and not nearly enough explosives. This is much like the first problem that we encountered. We can't just go outside and start 'blasting them away' due to the fact that we don't have enough ammunition."  
  
The tape went to another blue screen and the words "Test Subject 13". "Our next test was our first human causality." She said. "In the beginning we thought that the 're-animated people' were picking live humans through pheromones, a chemical given off by the living but not from the dead. In a rush to test this theory we covered our test subject, Private Young, in a scent that counter acts pheromones and sent him outside. We were too confident that this test would work."  
  
Ana looked away, Nicole kept her head turned, Terry squinted his eyes in disgust, and Kenneth was the only one that didn't show any emotion to the video. He'd seen a lot of people die and in a lot worse ways than being eaten alive. One of the many occupational hazards of being a police officer is becoming emotional devoid.  
  
The screen turned to a man in a black jumpsuit walking outside from the metal shed. The camera was obviously a security camera on top of the barn and it was a little fuzzy and hard to see. Walking out to the re- animated people, Private Young looked so nervous it seemed he might cry. It looked good at first but things turned bad quickly as ten or more of those things jumped on him, sinking their teeth into his flesh and ripping at the jumpsuit.  
  
"These were the entire test that I've followed though with but I have many theories that are close to testing stage. Before the other seven Project Hope stations fell they were sending us telegraphs of test they were running. None of their experiments seemed worth looking at to me but Dr. Moran feels differently." Ana noticed that there was a bit of hostility on the last little part of that.  
  
Sitting down as she spoke, Dr. Jones kept her eyes on Dr. Moran, as did everyone else. Hostility filled everyone's eyes as the watched him carefully.  
  
"So Frankenstein, what the fuck can you tell us?" Wilkins said.  
  
Dr. Moran stood as he looked at the new members of the group. "I would first like to say welcome to our new guest."  
  
"Get on with it you fucker", said Wilkins.  
  
His eyes turned back to the leader of the military group and the smile vanished from his face. "Very well then. As much as you people hate to admit that my methods just might be worth pursuing, I have successfully taught two of the re-animated to perform simple tasks such as brushing their hair and holding small tools. In addition to that, my two subjects have become less hostile towards me and I can actually make physical contact with them and not have to be worried that they are going to turn on me."  
  
"What?" Wilkins didn't bother hiding his disgust. "I want them to fucking die; I don't want them to do tricks!" He screamed the last part as he slammed his fist down into the table.  
  
"If we can teach them to serve us, if we can teach them to obey us, we can use them to help us fight against the more hostile ones."  
  
"How have you taught them?" Ana asked. Something about the whole idea of it intrigued her.  
  
It seemed to surprise him that someone was actually interested in what he was doing. He spun around and the smile returned to his face. "Well, it is very complicated. The re-animated people have residual memories that, if taped into, can be used to bring back a part of their lives before they were turned."  
  
Wilkins quickly interrupted him. "I'm giving you one week, just one week, to show me some kind of results that will help us kill the sons-of- bitches. After that I'm gonna terminate your funding and you'll be working under Dr. Jones, doing what she wants you to do."  
  
Kenneth leaned over so that the other three of the Crossroads survivors could hear him. "What kind of hell have we gotten ourselves into?" 


	3. The Rats

Author's Notes: Thank you to all my readers and thank you for the good reviews so far. I'm really trying to tie the original Dawn of the Dead into my own remake of Day of the Dead. I hope that everyone enjoys this so far and if anyone has something that they would like to tell me, even if it is bad, about my stories please review and let me know.  
  
"I can't believe that we traded one rat cage for another. Worse than that, this one has bigger rats."  
--Ana  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Walking ahead of the four new members of the silo group, Scott gave the tour. He walked down the main stretch of corridor that connected every room of the cavern. Every so often there would be a light bulb dangling from the ceiling, giving off just enough light to keep you from tripping over a miscellaneous stone that might lay in the path.  
  
Ana noticed many doors on each side of the hallway, more doors than she could keep count. There was a cool breeze that came from an unknown source that made the cavern worthy of a jacket. Ana wrapped her arms around herself to keep the chill bumps from emerging on her soft skin.  
  
"Over there is Dr. Moran's labs, which are off limits to us all", Scott said as he pointed to a heavy, steel door.  
  
"I'm guessing that Wilkers doesn't approve of that much now does he?" Kenneth wore a smirk on his face as he spoke. It was more than obvious that this amused him greatly.  
  
"No, he doesn't. Unfortunately for Sgt. Wilkers, he doesn't run everything around here." He motioned to the door once more. "Dr. Moran has requested that no one is allowed into his labs or his sleeping quarters, which are also behind that door, without is permission. None of us have actually seen to the other side of that door."  
  
Ana looked over at Kenneth and visa versa. They shared a mutual feeling of regret for leaving the mall. It showed on their faces as the walked down the dark and secluded hall of the silo that they were forced to call home. There wasn't enough gasoline or oil to get anywhere in the ship and even if they wanted to sail somewhere solely dependent on the wind, the path back was thick with those things.  
  
"Over here is where you will sleep, Barracks B", Scott said as he turned his body so that he was facing them. He had an expressionless look on his face that was impossible to read. It was much like Michael had been for the duration of their stay at the Crossroads Mall. "I'm sleeping just across the Hall in Barracks C."  
  
"Why aren't you sleeping with the other military men?" Nicole asked with something new hidden in her voice. Her attention seemed too focused on him and it bothered Terry, who noticed it right away and gave her a look that showed it. She didn't notice the look due to the fact that she was very intent on Scott.  
  
"To tell you the truth, I chose to sleep on this side. For one thing, it is farther from the entrance which just plain makes me feel safer, it is farther from the corral which defiantly makes me feel safer, and it is farther from the my comrades."  
  
"You don't like them?" She asked with curiosity ridding heavy in her tone.  
  
Scott straightened his back and looked up past the four newcomers. Nicole and the rest of the group looked over their shoulders and spotted a small camcorder that was secured to the wall. Informing the group that the camera was turned on, a little red light shinned dimly. All eyes turned back to Scott who was looking at Nicole.  
  
"To answer your question, no comment", he said with a smile at Nicole.  
  
Terry's arm went up and hung itself around Nicole's shoulder, pulling her closer as it did so. He looked down at her to study her face, which was facing the ground at the moment.  
  
"Which way is the corral?" Ana asked with a sense of self-security in her voice.  
  
"We are at the far end of one side of the silo and the corral is at the opposite side. In between here and there is about four hundred yards of turning and twisting hallways that hold two mess halls, a briefing room, three laboratories, a gym, a shooting range, and six barracks."  
  
Suddenly there was a bone rattling beep sound that came from the roof followed by the harsh yells of Wilkins. It was an intercom system that apparently ran the entire length of the cave. "Dr. Frankenstein, get to the briefing room A.S.A.P.".  
  
The intercom didn't stay silent for very long before Dr. Moran responded with, "Name-calling isn't very polite, Mr. Wilkins. What seems to be the problem? I don't want to get all the way down there just to find that you are raising more fuss about me not having a security camera in my labs."  
  
"Just get your ass down here and I'll be asking the questions!"  
  
Ana looked off down the long and dark hallway. "I can't believe that we traded one rat cage for another. Worse than that, this one has bigger rats." Kenneth chuckled at the comment but Terry and Nicole didn't. They seemed to have other things on their minds.  
  
"Okay, I'm on my way." About that time the large steel door that kept Dr. Moran's side of the world from the rest of them. The small, old man came wobbling out of his room awkwardly. There was nothing appealing about him in the least bit. He had ink and bloodstains on the white jacket that was clean just hours before. He reminded Ana of a penguin with the way that he walked, completely ungraceful.  
  
"If you guys want a hint on how to survive around here, stay out of Sgt. Wilkins' way as much as possible and try as hard as you can not to clash with him at all. Don't assort yourself with Dr. Moran because everyone here looks down on him and will do the same with you very quickly. You have a clique going on with yourselves and I would just stick to that. And whatever you do, do not underestimate Dr. Jones. She might be pretty and small but her bite is worse than her bark." He looked back at the camera for a second and then his voice got a little lower. "Sgt. Wilkins might think that he has this place under his thumbs but Dr. Jones is the actual puppeteer pulling the strings."  
  
"What do you mean?" Kenneth asked. It appeared to Ana that Kenneth had taken an interest in Sgt. Wilkins. It was more than obvious that Kenneth didn't like him and now it seemed like he was sizing him up, looking for weakness and strong points.  
  
Scott's voice got lower once again. "Sgt. Wilkins started to miss the company of the opposite sex. Dr. Jones was more than willing to, um, fill the void for him. It ended up that she took most of the control without him even knowing. Piss off Dr. Jones, get bit by Sgt. Wilkins."  
  
Ana looked at Terry's eyes and then shifted to Nicole and then to Kenneth. Her thoughts were spread over her face like a road map of her soul. After spending months together in the Mall and weeks together on the sailboat, they'd gotten to the point where they knew each other better than they'd known their own families. Now, they were a family, a family that was put in a strange environment with strange people that were potential more dangerous that then monsters outside, or inside if you considered the corral. 


	4. The Corral

Author's Notes: Hello everyone and thanks for reading my story. If I could just ask a few favors of my readers: please review each chapter as opposed to the whole story. This will help me in the long run because I will know what to work on specifically rather than over a broad subject. This should be, if I do it correctly, the chapter that sets up the rest of the chapters. Hope that everyone enjoys and, not to sound too needy, please review!  
  
**Chapter 4**  
  
With the exception of a few candles that were scattered over the room, the private barracks that housed Sgt. Wilkers was completely dark. The idea of the candlelight had been to be romantic for Dr. Jones, but the outcome was eerie.  
  
The unlikely couple was spooning nude in the bed that was obviously built to accommodate two people. A large grin wrapped around his face as he laid gentle kisses on her shoulders and the back of her neck. She, unlike him, wore no expression. Her beautiful eyes stared off into a space as if she were seeing something that no one else could witness. Like she had her own private world and it was her best-kept secret. The kisses continued for a few more minutes before she rolled over under the soft, thin sheets.  
  
The bed itself was large and looked like it should have been in a nice house as opposed to a horrible dark and dreary cavern. Dr. Jones' best guess was that he'd brought it with him from home, as did the rest of the decor that filled the rather large room. There were four trophy cases set up in the room with spotlights that shown down on the frozen gold men. The lights were usually an excellent source of light, but at the moment they were turned off.  
  
Due to the turn that she pulled in the bed, Jones was facing Sgt. Wilkers. He wore the overly large, smug grin that he usually had, but her face was a mask that hid all emotion and thought. He stared into her mysterious eyes and dismissed it instantly. Always quick to write off things that he didn't understand, he found himself staring at those eyes more than once and deciding to just smile.  
  
"I don't like the newcomers", she finally broke the silence. "It isn't good that they are here and they will only screw this whole operation up."  
  
His became puzzled in one quick sweep and then it was replace by false bravado. "I have them under control. You really don't have to worry about them." He leaned in for a kiss in an attempt to make her feel safer.  
  
Her hand coming up in between their mouths interrupted the kiss. With is eyes closed, Wilkers planted his lips on her hand with a kiss that would have been overzealous and too rough. Eyes opened in surprise, he leaned back to hear what more she had to add. It was obvious to him that this was one of the many moments that the romance would end if he didn't stay tuned to every single word that she spoke.  
  
"Kenneth is a strong one and will pull you away from control if he gets a chance," she said, "and you can't let him do that. Ana seems too intelligent and will soon side with Dr. Moran. Terry and Nicole are too loyal to Kenneth and Ana. If you don't put a stop to them, we will all be destroyed and then there will be no hope for us." She concluded with a little smirk that showed that she was done with her debate. The arrogance that showed on her face meant that she knew Wilkers would be more than willing to follow her every whim.  
  
All was said with a nod of Wilkers' head. The nod symbolized that everything would be taken care of and the newcomers would be no more A.S.A.P. He looked over to a small pile of cloths on the floor and frowned.  
  
"I don't want to do anything right now. Can't we just fool around some more, and then I promise I will get right on it."  
  
"I suppose that the corral will still be there in thirty minutes or so", she said it with a cocky smirk that was wasted on Wilkers. He was already set to a one-track mind. He hand started to trail down her body and he licked his lips a few times. She just lay there, letting him do whatever he wanted.

* * *

Wilson and Phil, the muscle of the military group, were standing outside the metal walls of the corral. They were talking back and forth, the usual small talk that they'd done for years. Wilson was laughing and slapping his leg when Scott came into their view. He was late, as usual, and they were, once again, angry him.  
  
Scott forced a dopey smile that he'd perfected. He'd learned a long time before he joined the military that if you were too small to be intimidating you could always act stupid. People will underestimate you greatly if you just stand there and smile. A world full of undead monsters wouldn't change that.  
  
"Damn it kid, where the hell have you been?" Wilson asked. He was always very anxious to get to work the corral. It became more than obvious that he harbored a deep hatred of the monsters, but it was a mystery as to why.  
  
"Listen rookie, from now on just try to be here on time", Phil said in a much more understanding tone. He'd been the closet thing to a friend that Scott had made since starting a life in the silo.  
  
"Will do", the smile never altered. Scott was fairly sure that Phil could look past the smile and know what it was, but as far as he knew, he was the only one. "So what's on the menu today?"  
  
"Fuckin' Frankenstein wants two new samples. I swear to God that I'm gonna fuckin' lock him in this damn thing the next time he 'ask' us to come out here and risk _our_ asses to get _his_ fuckin' samples." Wilson had decided that he hated Dr. Moran from the first time that he announced his plan to train the reanimated creatures.  
  
"Oh, you know you love working the corral", Phil said it with no fear in his voice. Scott's eyes went from the double reinforced, steel doors and walls of the corral to Phil and Wilson. He'd have never had enough courage to say that to a man twice his size.  
  
Wilson just looked at Phil, his best friend in the silo, and let it go. He looked up at the steel doors and a slight smile came to his face followed by a look in his eyes that everyone had seen at least once since they'd worked with Wilson. A darkness circled around his pupils and the rings under his eyes seemed to ease up just a bit. His mouth started to water and he always blinked a few times to take the tears of joy from his eyes. His breathing got just a little too heavy and his eyes looked way too anxious.  
  
"What is the corral?" Ana's voice startled the men. Her lovely voice drifted over to them like honey, but it was still as unnerving as a bee sting. "Jumpy?" She said it with amusement heavy in her voice.  
  
"When you get used to hearing only six voices every day, a new one can scare the shit out of you", Phil said with a smile. He looked at Ana with caring eyes but she wouldn't return the look. She did her best to keep her eyes on any of the other two men because they didn't remind her of Michael; Phil did.  
  
"That's understandable", she said.  
  
"What the fuck are you doing here?" As he said it he realized that the rest of her group was following behind her. Kenneth led the couple with his shotgun in his hand, and Terry and Nicole were holding each other for warmth in more than one way.  
  
"We want to know what this place is. If we are going to be forced to make a home of it then we have to know what is going on, right?" She made it a question.  
  
"All right, but stay the fuck out of the way. I'd hate for one of you to get hurt or worse because you got too curious." Wilson seemed to wear his emotions on his sleeve.  
  
"Preparing to open the corral's door. Safety gear and restraints ready?" Phil said as he climbed a ladder that led up the steal wall.  
  
The wall stretched over to block off an entire corridor of natural cave. There was a four feet gap from the top of the artificial wall and the top of the cave that let everyone know that there was something behind it. The ladder was bolted to the wall and ran parallel to the doors. The ladder stretched all the way up to the top of the twenty-foot wall and appeared to go up and over to the other side. At the top of the ladder there was a crack that was attached to a chain that was attached to the door that slid up and down the wall. The only way to get in or out of the elaborate cage was to crank the wheel and let the door up.  
  
"I'm not ready. Hold on", Scott spoke as he spared one more glance over to Terry and Nicole. He lifted up a harness that rested on his shoulder and had a large rod coming out from the chest. At the end of the rod there was a neck harness that was controlled by a small hand clutch that hung off of Scott's chest. One squeeze of the clutch and the neck harness locked with a vice like grip that would squeeze tight enough that nothing would be able to get loose, but not so hard that it would snap the vertebrae. From the look of strain on Scott's face, Ana decided that the piece of machinery was probably very heavy and hard to hold for long periods of time.  
  
While Scott was adjusting some straps on his harness, Wilson was setting up a metal cage that looked very similar to a casket. The shape was identical, but instead of hard wood there were metal bars and instead of cushions on the inside there was arm, neck, torso, and leg restraints. He had the 'metal casket' standing up so that a person could walk into it. He popped open the lid that was on hinges and it swung open with ease.  
  
"Ready now?" Phil said from the top of the ladder.  
  
"Ready", Wilson and Scott said in unison.  
  
Phil started putting his weight into the wheel so that it started to turn with an ear piercing, screeching sound that almost made Nicole put her hands over her ears. Terry did the job for her as the whole group watched in awe at the procedure. They looked like they'd done in hundreds of times before and had it down to an art.  
  
Phil's forearms started to bulge with effort as he continued to crank and then the door was up enough to see what was inside. A dark space that looked empty but movement was noticeable. It was like looking into black water and knowing that there was a man eating fish below the surface. Unrecognizable forms dashed around in the dark.  
  
Wilson walked over to the door and it was the first time that Ana realized that there was still a layer of metal bars keeping the corral from them. The bars were spaced out enough for a leg to fit through but a human body would never be able to fit. "Come and get it motha fuckers!" He screamed.  
  
As soon as the words escaped his mouth one of the things rushed the bars and ran face first into it. Blood flew out of its mouth from the impact, but it kept trying. It was a young man that had been in his twenties, now he was long past dead. His suit and tie were dirty and wrinkled with bloodstains covering it. His face was torn up on one said so badly that his mouth lay slack and his eye was missing. The other side worked perfectly, blinking, biting, growling, and yelling.  
  
Wilson pulled out a Beretta 9mm and planted a bullet in his chest. Not a killing blow but he didn't seem to care. The monster kept trying to push through the bars as his arms reached out for anything to grab. He raised his gun to make it level with its face and pulled the trigger once more. The face exploded with blood and thicker fluids that were a dark green. Some of the mess ended up on Wilson's face but he didn't seem phased by the gore.  
  
"Wilson! We need those samples alive!" Phil sounded enraged with the act. "Get the fuck away from the cage before I put a round in you myself."  
  
Wilson didn't take it as an empty threat so he retreated back to the metal casket while swearing. Phil looked down at Scott to make sure that he still had enough energy and strength to hold the restraints. A few seconds later another one of the monsters rushed the metal bars. This one was a female that had been wearing nothing but a white, bloodstained bra and blue jeans that had fallen to her ankles.  
  
"Now!" Scott shouted his demand up to the top of the ladder. Phil flipped and hidden switch that was on top of the wall and another set of metal bars fell behind the undead woman. She was pinned in a cage that was just big enough for her to fit snug.  
  
Scott moved in like clockwork and shimmied the rod through one of the gaps in the bars and placed the restraint around the woman's neck. Squeezing the clutch and the restraints closed around her neck, limiting her movements. She brought her hands up and began to try and free herself from the device, a futile attempt.  
  
"I got her", Scott said in a calm voice. It appeared that she was completely incapable of movement or freedom.  
  
Phil hit another unseen switch that slid the closest bars to them into the steel walls, leaving behind several holes. Scott took a few steps back, bringing the woman out of the cage. He struggled to overpower her, and it worked. He forced her farther away from the cage and then her started to push her in the direction of the metal casket. With one quick movement, he pushed her in and looked at Wilson. He was already hard at work fitting the restraints around her legs and arms first, then her torso, and then her neck. Once she was fit snug into place, Scott hit the clutch once again and then his job was done.  
  
"Well boys, one down and one to go", Phil said as he let the metal bars slide back into place.

* * *

The military muscle and the newcomers walked as one large group to Dr. Moran's private quarters. They'd gathered up one more, male creature and were wheeling them back with two forklifts. They found Moran standing anxiously outside of his door. He was twiddling his thumbs, whistling, and bouncing his feet all at the same time when the showed up.  
  
"Very excellent. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for helping me with my studies", Dr. Moran made Ana smile with the way that he spoke. It almost seemed that he didn't even know that he was hated by the entire crew.  
  
"Shut the fuck up", Wilson said. "We got you your two samples."  
  
Ana looked over at Dr. Moran as he looked at the female body. His eyes drifted up and down the nearly half-naked body and he licked his lips a bit as a smirk started to form on his face. His eyes shifted over to Ana and a mix of embarrassment and fear quickly replaced the look. She cocked a brow and looked over to everyone else to see if anyone had noticed the look that he'd give the reanimated corpse. No one had. They were all conversing with one another and having a good time, completely oblivious to the interesting glance that Dr. Moran had spared on a dead woman.  
  
The woman had a pale blue-green skin color and her veins were all showing through too much. A thick, black fluid was oozing out of her mouth as he hissed in protest at the restraints. Her eyes were around the room to everyone and hunger was heavy in her look. There was also a hunger in Dr. Moran's eyes but it wasn't the same kind.  
  
"Thank you, I can take it from here", Moran said, more than just a little anxious to get rid of his company.  
  
Ending Notes: So, what did you think? I hope I did what I was striving for, set up the rest of the story. Please, give me some feedback so that I can know what I need to work on to make this story as good as possible. Special thanks to SparkingDiamond (TheScreamQueen13) and any of my other readers. Thanks to everyone that has helped me make this my best story so far. Hope you like it as much as I do! 


	5. The Shower

**Chapter 5**  
  
Dr. Moran reached over to turn off the alarm clock that had been ringing in his ear for over five minutes. The flashing red lights told him that it was 4:06 a.m. Rolling out of his small, standard issue bed, Moran prepared himself for the following day that he was forced to live. He walked over to the only door that led to his room and flipped the light switch that was mounted next to it. A series of halogen lights flicked to life, showing the entire room that he slept in.  
  
The room was very plain with one, single bed that had white sheets and white covers. Next to the bed there was a single nightstand that held his glasses, a lamp, and the alarm clock that was the only way for him to know what time of the day it was. The walls were an off white, the color that most hospitals used, and the floor was white tile. There were doors on opposite sides of the room, one to get in from the rest of the silo, and one to get into his private laboratory.  
  
He slept with is clothes on, so he didn't have to worry about getting dress. His outfit was composed of a pair of black slacks with suspenders that held them up and a white, short sleeved collared shirt. His coat was kept in the lab.  
  
He wiped the sleep from his eyes and because his room didn't have a bathroom, he'd have to wait to see if he was presentable to the rest of the group for the day. All of the barracks had restrooms except for his, because the room that he slept in was never meant to be sleeping quarters. He'd insisted on the room for the privacy and the fact that it was next to door to his lab.  
  
Stumbling to the door that led to the lab, Moran continued to wipe his eyes free of the blur that kept his vision impaired. He reached out for the blood red handle that stood out from the rest of the room and walked in. He was met by moans and groans the instant he walked in.  
  
"Hush now, I'm only here to help", he said to the darkness. Using cognitive mapping, he reached out for the light switch and flicked it up.  
  
With the curtain of shadows lifted, the room became completely visible, as did the reanimated monsters that stood in the room. The two, new subjects were tied down to separate operating tables with leather restraints. Both bodies were completely nude, but the male's body was cut in several different places. Their bodies fought futilely against the restraints as Moran made his way around the room.  
  
The male's torso had an incision from the bottom of the sternum to the top of the abdomen. The skin had been spread apart and held in place with hooks, so that all of the organs were fully visible. Nothing inside of the open man moved, yet his body seemed to still be active. He hissed at Moran as his arms and legs pulled against the straps that held him down.  
  
The female was completely untouched, but was still strapped down. She too seemed very anxious to get Moran close enough to attack, but he wouldn't let that happen. He looked over the nude body a few times before laying his hand on her bare stomach. She pulled her head up in an attempt to bite him, but he arm was too far away. He rubbed his hand over the slick and soft flesh and a small smile came to his face. A rather large scream from the monster shook Moran from his thoughts and he made a "tisk" noise.  
  
The room looked like any other operating room, including the tools, the stands, the lights, the containers of gas, and lockers. There was a separate door in the corner of the room that led deeper into his lab. He headed for it, being sure to stay far enough away from the reanimated people. He walked through the door and the lights were already on.  
  
"Hello, Bub, Christina." He said to two 'people' that stood looking at him in the center of the room. Bub, the closer of the two, had begun rotting and it showed on his face. Large pockets of puss formed in groups on his left side and large scraps and cuts on his right. It was obvious by his appearance that he was one of the monsters but his actions would say other wise. He was very docile and stood very still as Moran entered the room. He wasn't wearing any restraints and didn't need them either. He wore a white t-shirt with holes all through it and a pair of blue jeans with no shoes.  
  
Christina was just as dead and docile as Bub, but she wasn't as decayed. She was wearing a short, black skirt and a white bra. Blood was smeared down her stomach and there were large bite marks up and down her inner thigh. Her blond hair was a tangled mass and her blue eyes had turned almost white.  
  
"Hello honey." Moran said to Christina. "Bub, go face the wall." He commanded.  
  
Bub looked at Dr. Moran for a second, processing the information, before he walked over to the far corner and put his nose to it.

* * *

Nicole couldn't sleep the entire night, so she finally gave up around 4:30. There wasn't a clock in their room and being that they couldn't see the sunlight, she had to guess the time. She hopped off of the top bunk that Terry and her shared with a slight thud on the till floor. Standing still for a few moments just to make sure that she hadn't waken anyone, she let out the breath she hadn't even been aware she was holding, and then walked out of the barracks.  
  
The silo was just as eerie as the mall had been at night. Living in a world where the dead rise, she'd become fairly brave and so she headed down the long corridor. She'd passed the restroom/shower on the way to their barracks the first time they'd come in, so it was just a matter of finding it. After a few days of a boat, she really, really wanted a shower.  
  
After a few yards she found the door that was labeled in green, "restroom". She pushed the door with no handle to find steam come pouring out. She fought through the cloud of water and walked in farther. She could hear the water running and figured that she was surely the only one up that early so someone must have left it on from the night before.  
  
She passed several urinals and even more stalls before finding the showers. Standing in a waterfall of hot water was Scott. His naked body was well built and wet, letting the short red hair cling to his head. The water poured down him like a beautiful fountain that left Nicole speechless. He obviously hadn't noticed her because she kept watching as he bathed himself.  
  
"Nicole?" Terry's voice sounded out from behind her. A mixture of pain, anger, and curiosity rode heavy in his voice, even over the sound of the running water.  
  
She spun around to see that he still had that cute sleepy look in his that she'd seen hundreds of times, but this time there was something new to it. He looked wounded. By this time Scott had heard them, turned off the water, and wrapped a towel around his body.  
  
"What's going on here?" He asked. There was a smile on his face as he said it and Terry couldn't fight the anger that was riding up his body. His hands began to shake and all he could do to stop it was to clench his fists.  
  
He walked out onto the slick floor in with a quickness to him that showed his rage.  
  
"Terry, please don't!" Nicole said. "I was just going to take a shower and found him here. I wasn't looking, I promise!" It was too late.  
  
Terry took an untrained swing at Scott that went out and around. Being on the defense, Scott put his opposing arm up and stopped Terry in his place. He then brought his strong arm up and landed a punch to Terry's gut, taking the air out of his lungs. Terry fell to the wet floor and hit his head hard enough that it cut. Blood mixed with the water as he fought to get any air back into his lungs.  
  
"You jerk!" Nicole yelled at Scott. "You didn't have to hurt him!"  
  
Looking like the victim, Scott held his hands up as if he surrendered and started to walk out. "He swung at me", he said it with regret in his voice. He walked out of the restroom without another word as Nicole tended to the injured Terry.  
  
"Get away from me", Terry managed to whisper out through the pain.  
  
"What?" Nicole seemed surprised. "I hadn't been standing there for long, and I was just about to turn around and leave. I love you Terry", she pleaded with him.  
  
"I know how long you were there. I wasn't asleep when you got up. Now, I said get away from me."  
  
She knew that there wasn't anything that she could say that would make it better so she turned around and walked out, leaving Terry in a fetal position on the wet floor.


	6. The Wall

**Chapter 6**  
  
Waking up at eight o'clock, Ana blinked the sleep out of her eyes and started to climb out of her bed. The small room that they'd been assigned to was set up with two bunk beds on opposing walls, and the only door in or out in between them. The walls and floor were made of dark concrete and were cold to the touch. The lack of light kept the room in a constant dream-like state, and, with the exception of the light coming from the opened door, the dark swallowed most of the light.  
  
She placed her feet down on the ground and a chill ran up her legs, across her spine, and ended with a shake back down the same path. The feeling pulled her from her cozy sleep and brought her to the reality of the day. Her eyes took in the surroundings and it showed that she was the last one to leave. Kenneth's bunk, the one on the opposite side of the room, was made and neat. The bed above her, Terry and Nicole's, was also empty, but it wasn't made.  
  
The door had been left open by the last person to leave, and she slowly made her way in the direction. She had found a pair of pajamas in a small closet next to their beds. She hadn't thought to change back into her clothes as she made her way out the large, heavy door.  
  
She entered the long stretch of corridor and realized that it was completely devoid of life. The amount of light was the same no matter what time of the day it was, and that, about all else, unnerved her beyond articulation. The only sound was that of water dripping onto metal pipes. The patter of it was like an undeveloped music.  
  
A cold draft flowed through the corridor from an unknown source and it made the lights sway back and forth slightly. The shadows that were cast from the lights grew and shrunk as if they were alive and waiting for prey. Ana wrapped her arms around herself to retain some of her own body heat as she started to move down the hallway.  
  
The first person that her eyes beheld for the day was Phil, walking in her direction with his assault rifle in hand. His eyes wore heavy bags under them that were dark and made him look years older than he was. His face was a mix of sorrow and anger; it was the only face Ana had ever seen him make. The fact that he reminded her of Michael made her uneasy around him. Seeing his face forced her to remember a dream that she'd had that night about the man that she'd started to fall for. The same man that had to take his own life because he was doomed to become one of the monsters outside.  
  
"Hey, Ana, right?" He made it a question. By the time that his words came out of his mouth they were face to face. Up close it appeared that he'd been awake for hours.  
  
"Yeah, have you seen any of my roommates?" Keeping her eyes on the floor, Ana didn't think that she'd be able to look at him in the eyes and keep the tears from falling from hers.  
  
"Um, I think I saw that little red head in the Mass Hall talking to Scott. The conversation seemed a little heated, so I don't know how much longer she will be there though", he pointed his thumb back behind him. "I haven't seen anyone else and that's kinda my job for the time being." He repositioned his hands on the assault rifle.  
  
"What do you mean 'your job'?"  
  
"Wilkers gives us different jobs every day. Today, my job is to go around and keep track of everyone and make sure they don't go around snooping." There was a sarcastic tone that showed that he didn't think the job was necessary.  
  
Without another word, Ana brushed past Phil in an almost disrespectful manner. She wouldn't admit it to herself, but she wanted to hate him for looking like Michael. Her feet patted on the ground as she made the distance between them greater.  
  
The corridor looked the same as it had the night before, although she hadn't memorized its twists and turns yet. After a few minutes of walking she started to realize that there were a lot of rooms that hadn't been covered by Scott's tour and it made her wonder if Wilkers would have any reason to keep things from her group. Most of the doors that she passed didn't have any labels, and the few that she tried to open were locked. She shook off the idea when she heard voiced farther down.  
  
The sounds echoed down the hall and made them sound closer than they were. Another few minutes of walked and she found Nicole and Scott having a heated discussion. He was setting at a table in an almost comfortable manner, but Nicole was standing, pointing a finger at him, and had a tense presence.  
  
"You had no right to hurt him like that", she said as her finger moved around, always pointed at him. "You're freakin' trained for Christ's sake!"  
  
"He lunged at me! I was just defending myself", Scott replied. "You can't tell me that you wouldn't have done the same." It was his turn to point a relaxed finger at her.  
  
"What's going on here?" Ana spoke up. At the mall she'd become the median that kept most of the people in check for most of the time. The position spilled over onto the ship, and now in the silo.  
  
A shameful look came over to Ana from Nicole's eyes and she remained completely silent. Scott's gaze flicked from Nicole to Ana then back to Nicole. His face had gone from defensive to a blank, unreadable mask. He seemed to watch from Nicole's reaction before he was going to say anything.  
  
"Well?" Ana wasn't willing to give it up. From what she had heard, some one had gotten hurt and Nicole was upset about it, which meant that it was probably Terry.  
  
"Early this morning, I went to take a shower and Scott was in there", she started and then took a deep breath as if she didn't know whether she could finish or not. "Terry followed me in and thought that I was staring at him and so he got furious. He tried to hit Scott and got hurt instead." She took a long pause and Ana thought that her story was finished. "Terry told me to leave the shower and I did because I knew that he was going to be unreasonable, and then when I went back to find him he wasn't there. That was about four hours ago and I don't know where he is." By this time she had a single tear rolling down her cheek. Her beautiful blue eyes were sparkling with the moisture of pain and sorrow.  
  
"I offered to help find him, but she refused. She said it would only make him angrier", Scott piped in.  
  
"That was probably a good idea, but it could be dangerous in here if we don't find him. I think we should all go out and search this place until he turns up", Ana said.  
  
The trio stood up in preparation to go out, and then they all split up.

* * *

Dr. Moran was getting dressed, eyes locked on Christina. She was completely nude with the exception of blood and thicker fluids that were coming out of several wounds. Her eyes stayed focused on Moran as he moved around to get he clothes.  
  
"Christina, give me my pants", he said it as he buttoned up his white, collared shirt. Her eyes stayed on him as if she hadn't heard his command. "Damn it, why must you be so difficult?" He tried to think of a way to rephrase his words so that it would process with her. Of the two trained reanimated people that he had, she was the slowest. "Christina, bring my pants", he said.  
  
Something flicked in her dead eyes and she searched the ground. Like a dog that has just spotted a steak, she focused on the pants and walked over to pick them up. With them in her hands, she walked over to Moran and handed them to him.  
  
"Thank you, Christina." He smiled and tried to run his fingers through her hair but it was too tangled. "Soon, it will be just you, Bub, and I. Sgt. Wilkers wont even see it coming." His smile broadened just a bit as he looked at her.

* * *

Kenneth had found a wall that aroused an intuition in him that he couldn't explain. All of the walls were the same color throughout the silo, but this one was just a few shades lighter. He'd waken up at seven o'clock to take a shower, there he found Terry. They'd decided to take a walk around the compound to become familiar with it. For Terry it had been a chance to take his mind off of Nicole, for Kenneth it had been a chance to learn as much about the silo as possible.  
  
The two men stood in front of the wall, looking at it. Terry didn't think that it was anything to get excited about, but Kenneth had a different opinion. He had both hands placed on the cool surface, feeling it for differences in the other walls. He knocked on it a few times and found that it was hollow on the other side.  
  
"So, how did you notice this anyway?" Terry was trying everything to get the picture of his girlfriend looking at a naked guy out of his head.  
  
"When I was a pilot in the Army they thought us to notice everything. If you go out on a rescue mission, you have to be able to see everything."  
  
"You were in the Army? You never told us that", Terry looked at the walls from a distance to see if he could pick up on the difference in color.  
  
Kenneth got a smirk on his face. "There's a lot about me that yall don't know", he replied. It was true; Kenneth had kept to himself in the mall and on the boat. "There is defiantly something on the other side of this wall. The million-dolla question is, what is it?"

* * *

Sgt. Wilkers looked at the many screens in his control room. There were over one hundred and fifty hidden cameras scattered throughout the silo, and he could access any of them from his personal room. His fingers were busy typing on the small keyboard that sat in front of him. The largest of the screens zoomed in on Kenneth and Terry. A large frown showed on the reflection of the screen where Wilkers was very disappointed.  
  
Jones was standing behind Wilkers and she could see the frown on his face. He was sitting, so he only came up to her chest. Wilkers and Jones were the only two that knew about what was behind the wall and they knew what it would mean if Kenneth found out.  
  
"...I was a pilot in the..." Wilkers' face grew even more uneasy.  
  
"You know what this could mean? The helicopter is on the other side of that wall. If they access the hidden elevator, they can find the only fucking way out of here."  
  
"I know, honey", he said. As his words dripped out of his mouth her body shook in disgust. "It was a good idea, right? I mean, keeping the helicopter from everyone else was a good idea." He was searching for reassurance.  
  
"Of course it was. Scared rats will always try to desert a sinking ship. Keeping it to ourselves insure our safety without having to risk someone else trying to take it from us", she paused for a second. "It was your best idea."  
  
"I thought you were the one that thought of it." He spun his swivel chair to face her.  
  
"No, remember babe, you came up with it", she smiled as she said it.  
  
"Oh yeah."  
  
"Listen, he is a pilot and he is on the verge of finding the helicopter. What are you going to do?" The gears of paranoia started to turn in his head as she spoke to him and his frown got even bigger. "He is stronger and smarter than we are and he wants us out of the picture." She was stroking his weakness and it was working perfectly.  
  
"I'll get right on it."  
  
**Author's Notes:** Hey, Chase's Aces here! I hope you guys like the revelations that I made in this chapter. The plot is thickening, no? Where could this all be going? Only I know and you can only read to find out. I can't wait to get this one done because I am keeping myself in suspense! Please read and review and tell me what you think. A special shout out to SparkingDiamond, themightypen, and maul! 


	7. The Beginning of the End

_Author's Notes_: Well, it has been way too long since I've updated. Love troubles will often do that to a man. I'd actually completely forgotten that I even had this story up, but I sat down and started typing as soon as I remembered. I'd like to give out a special thank you to all of my loyal readers, and you haven't seen anything yet. The things that I have in store promise to be exciting, scary, romantic, and it will tie up any loose ends. What will happen to our favorite four survivors and the rest of the crew? Something special that I'd like to ask of all my reviewers of this chapter is to review and give me their favorite character that I've made up and why.  
  
**Chapter 7**  
  
Nicole found herself standing in front of the Corral, a look of fear spread across her face. Her search for Terry had proven to be a failure thus far, and it had been an hour since she had seen anyone. For fifteen minutes she had just stood there, looking at the pin that kept the _monsters_ away.  
  
She found her whole body tense up at the thought of it. There was just one wall keeping _those things_ from killing her. It just did not seem safe to her for some reason, keeping the monsters only a few feet away. It was the same feeling that she had every day at the Crossroads Mall. At least the boat had been miles from the nearest threat.  
  
"Hey", a male's voice startled her from her thoughts. Her eyes, that were just a little too big, turned to the shadows that held the speaker.  
  
"What the hell is your problem? You scared the shit outta me." Not knowing whom she was speaking to made her feel uneasy, but her eyes shifted from fear to anger.  
  
Scott stepped out of the dark to look at her with soft eyes. It was the first time since the shower scene that she had thought about how cute he was. His short, red hair that nearly matched her own and his blue eyes made him very attractive. She tried to stay angry with him, but it was hard with him looking at her like that.  
  
"Any luck?" Scott sounded genuinely sorry about what he had done. Or maybe he was sorry that he had hurt Nicole. Which ever it was, his voice made her want to forgive him.  
  
"None. I've really screwed up this time." She said. "I mean, we really haven't even ever had a fight."  
  
"Can I offer my opinion?" He waited for her to respond, but she just sat there in silence. "From what I understand, you guys started this relationship in that Wal-Mart or whatever, and yall were basically alone there, right?" She nodded. "Well, maybe you are just seein' a side of Terry that you've never seen before because yall have been alone."  
  
Her eyes look puzzled at what he was saying and she didn't understand. The smallest traces of tears started to well up in her eyes as she looked at him. The way that he used the word "yall" and his accent showed that he was probably from the South. It made her wonder about Scott and how he ended up in the godforsaken silo.  
  
"I mean, maybe he is a jealous guy, but you never had a chance to find it out." As he summed up his idea, she started to cry. It wasn't because he had hurt her feelings for because he was being hateful, or even because she missed Terry. It was because she had been thinking the same thing.  
  
He took a few steps closer towards her, but she didn't notice because of the tears. He quickly closed the distance between them, and her eyes found him just as he was a few inches from her face. In one quick motion, with no warning at all, he brought his face in and pressed his soft, full lips to hers. On reflex, she kissed him back. It made her feel good to have someone there to comfort her while she was lonely and scared.  
  
She pushed away from him, keeping her hands on his chest, and looked into his eyes. Her tears had stopped, but there were still wet lines running down her face. His body continued to push slightly on her hands, but not so much that he was forcing himself onto her. It was just enough to let her know that he wanted more.  
  
"Why did you do that?" The thought of a guy just kissing her made her think for a second, and she wanted to know his motives. "Terry and I are together...well, we were together. And you were a big part of the reason that we might have broken up. Now you're kissing me?" She didn't want to stop either. It felt right and good.  
  
"Up on the ground level there and thousands, millions of people that died with regrets in their hearts. If you think about it, that could be the reason that they stuck around. I learned a long time ago that if you want something, you have to go for it." His words sounded simply and easy on paper, and that was exactly what she wanted.  
  
She let her arms buckle at the elbows so that the force of his body could lean into her. He was taller than Terry, so it was a little harder to kiss him, but they made due. He leaned down a little more and she stood on the tips of her toes.

* * *

Wilkers stared at the many screens that played before him. One that caught his eye, more so than any of the others, was the one that showed the front of the Corral. A picture of a shirtless Scott and a very passionate Nicole made him smile a bit. His thoughts went over the fact that Terry and Nicole had been an item when they showed up, and now things were different.  
  
He reached down to his control panel that consisted of a keyboard, a mouse, and few different buttons that were color coated. From top to bottom they went blue, green, yellow, and then there was a red one in a glass cover. He pressed the "enter" button on the keyboard, and the screen showed a red circle at the top corner, signaling that he was recording the picture.  
  
"Never know when the group might want to watch a little movie", he said to himself. His eyes stayed on the screen for a few more minutes as Nicole took her shirt off to show a royal blue bra that matched her outfit. Wilkers' smile grew as he thought about how far they might go.  
  
He turned around in his chair to see that he was alone in the small control room. Dr. Jones had told him that she was going to go out and find out more about Kenneth. He trusted her enough that he was willing to let her do whatever she wanted within the compound.

* * *

Ana found Terry and Kenneth back at their barracks and the relief showed on her face. It was impossible to show how happy she was to see that they were okay. She had a family at one time that she would go to see on Christmas and Thanksgiving. She had a family that would call her on her birthday and stop in on random occasions just to let her know that she was loved. Now they were all dead, and the trio that she lived with now was her only family. Terry, Kenneth, Nicole, and Ana, the picture perfect family.  
  
"Guys, I'm so glad that I found you", she said as she walked into the room. She stopped almost instantly at the sight of her barracks. A sock hung up in the corner, almost at the roof, and it made her wonder what it was hanging on. All the view was completely chaotic with ripped mattresses, pillows, and covers scattered all over the room. In the center of the floor there was four pieces of metal that she had no idea as to the origin.  
  
Kenneth had his finger up to his mouth, showing Ana that silence was very important, but she couldn't figure out why. Terry's eyes looked at her as if he had gotten used to Kenneth's strange gesture. The large, black man then slid one of the shredded mattresses onto the pile of metal and then a second, and then a third.  
  
He pointed down at the layer of mattresses and said, "Bugs". One word summed it up completely. She had known that they were under surveillance, but it hadn't bothered her. Kenneth had never been an irrational person, so she figured that he had to have had a good reason to seek out all of the bugs in their sleeping quarters.  
  
Her eyes flicked up to the hanging sock, she pointed at it and lipped out the word "what". He looked up at it, and then back to her.  
  
"It's a soundless camcorder. The sock will take care of it until Wilkers realizes that it's covered. The mattresses will muffle the bugs out enough that we don't have to worry about them for a little while."  
  
"What's going on, Kenneth?" Ana's voice was cool, calm and collected. She was trying to hide that she was very eager to find out the reason behind taking out all of the surveillance.  
  
"Me and Terry were out lookin' around and we found this wall. I'm almost positive that it isn't a wall at all, but it is a door." His eyes were focused on Ana's. "I have a plan to find out what is behind it, but it is going to be hard to pull off."  
  
"When are we going to do it?" She didn't even have to say that she trusted him, because he knew that she did. She didn't even have to ask what the plan was, because if it was Kenneth's idea she was on board.  
  
"It is goin' to take an entire day, and we are starting tomorrow morning."  
  
She nodded and thought about what was going to happen. After a few minutes of silence, he explained it all to her, and in one quick sweep, she realized how hard it was going to be to pull it off.  
  
"So, we are going to take Wilkers out of the throne?" She already knew the answer, but she wanted to hear it again. He nodded just as the door opened.  
  
All eyes turned, expecting to see Wilkers, Phil, or Wilson. Instead they all saw Nicole standing in the doorway, looking at Terry with shameful eyes.

* * *

Phil sat in a corner of the compound that he had found on his first day there. Finding himself there every single day since, he had come to think of it as his secret thinking area. Wilson knew where it was because he had found him there once or twice, and Wilkers knew where it was because he saw just about everything in the Silo, but it still felt like a secret.  
  
He stared down at a photo of two children, both girls, and an older woman, his wife. He would have been in the picture too, but he had to take it. They had been in Florida for a vacation a few weeks before the outbreak. He was out on a mission in California, trying to help the victims of an earthquake, when it all happened. As soon as he got word that there was something horrible happening he called home to make sure that they were okay. All wires were busy, so he never talked to them again.  
  
Kasi, his oldest daughter, had been mad at him for leaving once again. She was old enough to realize that he was leaving, but not old enough to realize why. Jennifer on the other hand said that she loved him as he was walking out the door. Lucy, his wife, gave him a kiss on the cheek, a smile, and said the same words that she always said as he left. "Come back to me, please." And he responded the same way that he always did. "I promise."  
  
A few tears rolled off of his nose, landing on the faces in the picture. The idea that they might have survived stayed with him for a few days, but quickly faded as fewer and fewer radio signals came though on their CB.  
  
"I'm sorry that I couldn't keep my promise, babe." He couldn't stop the tremors that ran though his body. "I swear to you though, I will kill every last one of those fuckin' bastards."  
  
"Yeah you will." Wilson said. Phil hadn't even noticed that he was standing there. He turned angry eyes up to him and saw that he had a smile on his lips.  
  
"What tha fuck are you smilin' at?" He couldn't help the feeling of rage that he felt every time he thought about what those things could have done to his little girls. The pain in his stomach was real, and was nothing to smile at.  
  
"We are going to get those motha fuckers, and I promise you that. We'll figure out how, and then me and you will go out there and kick some ass." He kept his smile.  
  
"And why do you wanna kill 'em?" He was hoping that his reason was like his own, something worth listening to.  
  
"I was trained to kill the enemy, and right now the enemy is upstairs. Is there a better reason than that?"  
  
Phil could name a few. Kasi, Jennifer, and Lucy were three really good reasons. They were the best reasons that he could think of. "No, I don't guess that I can." He shook away the tears like a good soldier and smiled up at him with a fake pride. "Kill 'em all."  
  
_End Notes:_ Anyone like it so far? I sure do hope so. So, who is your favorite of my characters? Scott, Wilson, Dr. Moran, Sgt. Wilkers, Phil, or is it Dr. Jones? Please tell me which and why. The suspense is here and the climax is just around the corner. Can anyone else feel the tension building? The breaking point for all of them is only a chapter away, please stick with me and see how it all ends up. 


	8. The Dominos

_Author's Notes_: Just a little warning, things between Moran and his pet are going to get a little graphic, so if you can't handle that don't read it. It is just that simple. Please read it if you can because this is where it gets really, really good.  
  
**Chapter 8**  
  
The four survivors of the Crossroads Mall didn't sleep at all that night. To Kenneth's surprise, Wilkers never came in to check up on the camera and bugs. He figured that it was probably because there were so many hidden devices thought out the silo that he couldn't possibly get around to checking all of them.  
  
They went over the plan over and over, and went over all possible problems that they could run into. Having been trained by the Army to cover all possibilities, Kenneth wasn't willing to let one mistake in their complex plan mess things up.  
  
Eight o'clock rolled around and it was time for the day to start. None of them were tired due to the adrenaline that they were all feeling. It was the same feeling that Kenneth had felt countless times before; every time that he left for a mission in the military and every day that he left for work as a police officer he felt that adrenaline. Knowing that just one mistake could mean life or death will make a person really think about what they are doing.  
  
"You ready kid?" Kenneth said to Terry. Terry gave a little nod, and looked over to Nicole, who had not said a single word since she had gotten back to the barracks. Her eyes were focused on the ground and it was more than obvious that she was avoiding Terry. "Go get 'em."  
  
Terry walked the few steps to the metal door and it reminded him of the trip to the buses at Crossroads. Putting all of your eggs in one basket always made him nervous, and this time the eggs were their lives.  
  
As he walked he played Kenneth's words in his head over and over again. Not only was it a good way to try and memorize the plan, it was one way of putting Nicole in the back of his head for the next few hours. Go to Sgt. Wilkers' control room and make him think that I traded sides. Distract him while Kenneth and the rest do their part of the plan. Go to Sgt. Wilkers'...  
  
Before he knew it he was half way down the long corridor, headed in the direction of Wilkers' room. Realizing that the words were actually helping, Terry continued to repeat them.

* * *

Dr. Moran had always enjoyed the company of Christina. He looked down into her gray, glazed over eyes and a twisted smile formed on his lips, followed by a laugh that could freeze blood. His arms were getting tired from trying to keep his body held up in a push-up position, Christina under him.  
  
Her naked skin felt more like petrified wood than flesh, but that didn't stop him. Her color was an almost unnatural blue, white, and red with very few pink tones scattered though out. The dried blood that had built up in her hair had begun to break up and fall out. Flakes of it clung to his hand as he grabbed a hand full of her roots.  
  
When he had first started his little "love affair" with her, the temperature of her skin had bothered him, but he was over that now. All that mattered was that she would hold still long enough for him to finish. But there were times when he wished that she would do other things. He constantly thought about different commands that he could give that would make her seem a little bit more alive, but none of them worked.  
  
"Damn it, do something Christina!" Her eyes flickered a little bit, but nothing much. Her eyes became a more directed to him, as if she was just realizing that he was there. The command meant nothing to her, but he wasn't going to give up.  
  
"Quickly Christina, just do what feels right!" Once again she didn't do anything. He could feel his climax coming, so he had to hurry. He grabbed another handful of her hair, jerking her head back in hopes that it would trigger something buried inside of her. Maybe he could unlock some hidden sexual tendency that she had when she was alive. "Be natural!" He shouted. A smile formed on his lips when her head twitched a little bit.  
  
The combination of pulling her hair and shouting his command had finally forced a response. She blinked at his a few times, as if waking up from a deep sleep, and then a horrible hiss escaped her mouth. She pulled against his hold on her hair and reached her mouth towards his neck. The thought finally hit him of what he had done. With just one command, he took away the weeks of training and replaced it with her undying need to eat.  
  
He came into her just as he teeth penetrated the skin just below his ear. Blood spurted from his face onto hers and he let out a shriek that he didn't recognize. He pushed himself out of her, off of the bed, and out of her grasp at the same time. He fell to the floor with a painful thud, and then he quickly rolled over to his stomach, trying to crawl to his feet.  
  
Things felt too unreal, like a dream, as he felt an added weight on his back. The extreme loss of blood had already started to play with his mind; it took him a few seconds to realize that it was Christina on his back. Her teeth were digging into the back of his skull, bringing more pain to his body.  
  
His arms collapsed under him as he gave up and Christina continued to feed on his naked, old body.

* * *

Wilkers had fallen asleep in his chair, watching the screens. He had been up all night searching for Dr. Jones, who was A.W.O.L. A knocking at his door brought him from a dream that he had been having about being God.  
  
His face turned bitter quickly, he didn't like being forced from a good dream. He pulled his tired body from his chair and headed to the door. He pulled it open to find Terry with a smile standing in the doorway.  
  
"What do you want?" He didn't like the newcomers from day one, not even Terry.  
  
"We need to talk, I think you'll like what you hear." It was a struggle to keep his voice from cracking. His hands were shaking uncontrollably, so he kept them in tight fist behind his back.  
  
Wilkers' eyes stayed on Terry's, looking for faults, but he saw nothing. He took a step back and motioned for him to enter.  
  
Terry walked in with a touch of hesitation, but he tried to force his fear down for long enough to get this over with. Wilkers shut the door behind him and then turned to listen to what he had to say.  
  
"Okay--" Terry was cut off by Wilkers' held up hand.  
  
"Before you start, I want to show you something that I taped on my security camera last night." Wilkers said with a smile on his face. "You and Nicole are together, right?"

* * *

Kenneth, Ana, and Nicole sat in their barracks, waiting in silence. Kenneth looked down at his watch, counting down the minutes. A knocking on their door made Kenneth worry that Terry had chickened out or that Wilkers had caught him in the act.  
  
Scott walked though the door without being let in. "I came to see Nicole."  
  
All eyes turned to Nicole, a sad little red head that sat in the corner of the room. Scott closed the door behind him and then he looked around to see the mess in the floor. He dismissed it because Nicole was the only thing on his mind.  
  
Another sound from the hall interrupted the group. The sound of Dr. Moran's door opening from the other side of the hall followed by the sound of three different sets of footsteps made Kenneth think about how many people were allowed in and out of Moran's room. As far as he knew, the good doctor was the only one, so who else just came out?  
  
_Ending Notes_: Hahaha! Twisted huh? Is it getting good yet? 


	9. The Reaper

_Author's Notes_: To all of my loyal readers. This chapter is probably going to be on the angstful and depressing side. This is because my works usually reflect how I feel as I write them. As I write this I have "Don't Fear The Reaper" playing by Gus and my parents are fighting just behind me. I'm crying as I write this, my parents are going to get a divorce, so this might not be the best piece I ever write. I'm hoping that all of my emotions might be strong enough to really move people with this chapter, and hope is all that I really have right now. Oh yeah, if you really want to get the full effect of this chapter go out and down load Don't Fear the Reaper by Gus and listen to it as you read. It's a good song and it is how I feel right now. Please enjoy it as best you can.  
  
"In a world where staying dead is a luxury, we really shouldn't fear the reaper; we should embrace him."  
Dr. Jones  
  
**Chapter 9**  
  
Terry's eyes were slick with tears that had been unstoppable. The screen before him displayed a horror that he never thought he would have to suffer. Nicole, his Nicole, was sharing a very intimate moment with Scott. There were no words that could articulate the pain, the anger, the fear, the emptiness that he held in his heart.  
  
Wilkers stood off in the shadows, watching Terry with a smirk on the corners of his mouth. He took much pleasure in seeing the pain that was spread all over the young man's face. Now he knew that he had another ally, and this one could be very valuable.  
  
"You really loved her didn't you?" He said it while trying to hide the glee in his voice. It came out in a caring tone that reminded him of how a father would talk to a hurt child.  
  
"I do love her", he choked out with a crack of his voice. Just speaking seemed like a chore that might break him if he kept on with it.  
  
Keeping his eyes locked on the screen, he felt a strange pull to see how it went from there. He knew what they were doing, he knew that she was enjoying, he knew that he should have looked away, but he just couldn't make himself.  
  
"Then you know what you must do?" Wilkers stepped out of the shadows. At a glance a person wouldn't even be able to tell that he had been smiling just seconds before. In his hand he held a black handgun, safety off, bullet in the chamber.  
  
Terry finally pulled his eyes away from the screen just long enough to look down at the pistol. His glistening eyes beheld the sight of the gun and he didn't understand. At the moment, Terry had checked out and he was running on the lower brain functions. All that he knew was pain, anger, and hurt.  
  
His confused eyes slowly moved up to meet Wilkers', and in that one look he told him that he didn't know what to do. The gun meant nothing to Terry, and he wanted it to be explained to him. So, like a father to a child, Wilkers went into detail.  
  
"This is a very big place, Terry. If something was to happen here and someone got hurt, no one would ever know." He said it as he extended the gun out to Terry slowly, motioning him to take it from him. "Scott is the only thing standing in your way; don't you want to clear the path?" Wilkers stood patiently, waiting for Terry to take the pistol. He brought a small smile to his face as if showing that he wouldn't bite.  
  
The shell of Terry reached out slowly and wrapped his warm fingers around the cold butt of the handgun. An instant chill ran down his spine, and it felt good to feel something other than pain. Once again, his eyes came up to meet Wilkers' and there wasn't another word.

* * *

"Listen Nicole," Scott pleaded with her, "you have to talk to me." He looked at the back of her head. Even at that moment he was admiring her. He took in every one of her curves, her scent, and even the color or her beautiful hair. She kept her back turned to him, tears running down her face.  
  
"I think you should just leave." It was all that she could manage to say.  
  
"I just want you to know that what happened before actually meant something to me." He was making his finally case, rather she liked it or not. "I don't know if you feel the same, and I know that you feel guilty because of Terry, but I want you to know that I really care for you."  
  
"You just met me!" She snapped as she spun around.  
  
Kenneth and Ana watched from the corners of the room. Usually Ana would have stepped in and kept the conversation from breaking out into a fight, but she knew that some things just have to happen.  
  
While standing there, watching the heat and passion that connected the two, she spared a thought to Michael. She'd been trying to not think about him since she got there, but she finally broke down and let herself reminisce about him. She truly wished that they could have been that heated, had that much passion. That is impossible now.  
  
She was brought out of her thoughts by the silence that followed. The tension that built up after her words actually hurt everyone in the room.  
  
"Doesn't matter." He said it in a voice just above a whisper. "I'm still fallin' for you rather you like it or not. I don't care if you love Terry or if he loves you, what we did was great and that is all that matters to me."  
  
The next coming silence was even longer and filled with more tension. Scott turned away from her, leaving her to cry it out, and opened to door. He stepped out as quick as could in an attempt to escape the suffocating tension.  
  
He still had one arm in the door when he spotted the crimson spots on the floor coming from Dr. Moran's room. His door had been left open and there were three sets of bloody footsteps leading out into the hall and down the corridor.  
  
"Guys!" He shouted out to them to get their attention.  
  
Kenneth was the first one to get to the hall. He stood next to Scott, looking at the puddles of blood and he knew that no one could survive that much blood loss. He put it together in his head in a rush and things started to make sense to him.  
  
"Moran's dead." He said. "Well, dead in the sense that he fell down and then got up." He quoted his favorite jackass.  
  
"You mean that there is one of those things loose in the compound?" Ana asked as she stepped out into the hall to stand behind Kenneth.  
  
"I'd say that there are three of 'em." Kenneth announced. As he said it he turned to face Scott.  
  
"Is there a weapons cliche on the compound?" He asked him.  
  
Scott nodded his head as he pointed off in the direction that the footsteps went. "It's past Wilkers' private barracks and if near the corral." He announced.  
  
"Oh God..." Nicole trailed off. "Terry!" She took off in a run down the hall in the direction that the footsteps led off to.  
  
"Nicole, stop!" Scott yelled as he followed behind her, disappearing into the darkness of the cold cavern.  
  
Kenneth looked down at Ana who returned his gaze. He noticed how tired she looked and he felt bad for her. "Listen, go into our barracks, block off tha' doors as best ya can and wait for me to come back and get ya. Tha' shit is about to hit tha' fan." He said it in a cool calm voice.  
  
Usually she would have argued, but she just nodded and stepped into the room, closing the door behind her.

* * *

Dr. Jones stood looking at "the wall". She had no idea how to fly a helicopter, but she could give it a try. She just had to figure out how to break down the wood and plaster that made up the faux wall.  
  
Keeping her eyes focused on it, she wondered if Wilkers had spotted her on his cameras yet. She had gone A.W.O.L. a while back, so the suspicion had probably already been established.  
  
While looking at the wall she heard the echo of footsteps coming from farther down the hallway. In a quick leap, so hopped a few feet away from the wall so that no one would notice what it was. Trying to keep the helicopter a secret had been hard enough without just giving the key away by standing and staring at the wall.  
  
Straining her eyes to see, she started to make out a moving figure down the corridor. She could tell that it was moving quickly, but she couldn't tell who it was. She leaned against the wall in an attempt to act natural, but it was no use. Her heart was already pounding from the sound of the steps.  
  
She squinted her eyes a little and she could finally see that it was a man, a running man. Whoever it was, he was charging in her direction like a bullet out of a gun. The closer that he got the more she could make out his facial features.  
  
He was too close to her to run when she realized what he was. Bub, one of Moran's trained zombies was only a few feet from her when she tried to get away.  
  
She took a step back in the heels that she was wearing and instantly tripped over a rock that stuck out of the ground. Landing hard on the bottom of her shoulders, she closed her eyes in pain. When she opened them back up again, tears already in her eyes, the beast was standing above her, moving down.  
  
His face was tight with the decaying skin and it was like a living, or non-living nightmare. The monster pulled his face in towards her neck, pushing his teeth through the soft tissue into the meat. With a vice-like grip, he clamped down and ripped a hefty chunk of flesh away.  
  
Her screams fell upon deaf ears as the monster chewed the bits of her muscle, fat, and skin. He let it slide down his throat, ready for another bite. His glazed eyes looked down at the hole that had been left were her beautiful tissue had been. Blood shot out in calculated spurts that corresponded with her heartbeat, which was pounding faster than usual.  
  
Her eyes were filling with tears of pain, her muscles tightened throughout her body, and her voice came out in a harsh whisper as she tried to scream again. The blood and the screams just excited Bub even more, sending him into a feeding frenzy.  
  
He brought his face back down again, but this time he was aiming for her face. He put his bottom teeth up and under her top lip and put his upper teeth just under her nose. This time when he bit down her scream turned into a gurgle of blood and spit. He pulled away in a slow motion, pulling away all of the skin from the nose to the mouth.  
  
Her upper gums and teeth showed as the skin was removed, and her eyes got wider. Not having enough time to go into shock, she was still feeling every last bit of the pain as he ate her alive. He spared a few chews to the tender flesh and then let himself swallow again, turning back to the helpless victim.

* * *

Terry heard the screams from down the hall. First he heard Nicole yell his name, then he heard Scott yell Nicole's name, and then he heard a separate female scream. For all he knew, it could have been Nicole crying out in pain. Without another thought he took off down the corridor heading away from the Corral and from Wilkers, pistol in hand.  
  
As he ran he thought about Wilkers' words, he thought about them a lot. He had said that the only thing standing in his way was Scott, and that was true, but was he really thinking about killing him?  
  
Coming at him from down the hall was Nicole. She was in an all out sprit towards him, and he didn't know what was going on. As far as he knew everything was supposed to be going to plan.  
  
She approached him, but she didn't slow down. She hopped out and hugged Terry, wrapping her arms around his neck. She pulled him close, as close as she could. Closing her eye tight, she wished that they'd never come to the silo. She wished that they could have just stayed at the Crossroads Mall.  
  
"I'm so sorry, Terry. I love you so much." She said it though tears, realizing that he wasn't hugging her back. One hand was hidden behind his back and the other was at his side. He kept his face blank as he thought about the video. "Please forgive me."  
  
Just as she finished her plea, Scott came running up from the darkness. He had a worried look on his face, and Terry knew why. He cared about Nicole the same way that he did. For all he knew he might have loved her more than him.  
  
Standing there, looking at Scott while Nicole hugged him around the neck, he didn't know what to do. He had the gun in his hand, ready to go, and he could do it if he wanted.  
  
Wilkers walked out of the shadows; he had seen enough. The plan was simple, make Terry hate Scott enough that he was willing to take his life. After he had killed a man, Nicole would never forgive him, there for he wouldn't be able to live with himself. Terry would hate himself enough that he wouldn't ever be a problem anymore, Nicole would hate Terry enough that she wouldn't be a problem anymore, Ana and Kenneth would shun them both and before the day was over he would have made them all turn on each other. But Terry just stood there, looking at Scott.  
  
"Just do it!" He shouted, startling everyone.  
  
All eyes turned towards Wilkers, and then back to Terry. Slowly the young man pulled the gun out and moved Nicole out of the way. She didn't realize what was happening, so she just moved away. Wilkers smiled at the sight of what he'd created, what chaos he'd caused.  
  
The barrel of the pistol came up and pointed at Scott with Terry's finger on the trigger. But then, without warning, he froze. Wilkers' face froze with no expression as he watched.  
  
"What are you waiting for, kid? Just do it!" He shouted it once more.  
  
"Do whatever it takes", Terry whispered to himself. All the faces that watched him showed the curiosity. Scott's face was twisted with fear as he realized that Wilkers had traded him it and that Terry had a gun pointed at him. "Do whatever it takes to get Wilkers out of the way, even if that means you have to kill him." Terry repeated the last part of Kenneth's plan to himself. He turned the gun at Wilkers and, with no hesitation, he pulled the trigger.  
  
The explosion at the tip of the barrel was extremely bright in comparison to the dim lights that they been living in for the past few days. The sound echoed through the halls with a great force, cause everyone's ears to ring a little.  
  
The bullet soared through the air and landed in Wilkers' shoulder, knocking him back a step and then to his knees. He yelled out in pain as he brought his hand up to grasp his shoulder. "Son-of-a-bitch!" He shouted into the air.  
  
Not knowing how to load the next bullet into the chamber, Terry let his arm drop to his side. He let the gun slide out of his grasp and fall to the ground with a small thud that he couldn't hear due to the ringing.  
  
With expert speed, Moran reached down, pulled out his own handgun, sighted it on Terry and pulled the Trigger. His aim was a little off because he was firing with his bad hand, putting the bullet in Terry's upper thigh.  
  
With a scream and a splatter of blood, Terry fell to the ground. Scott rushing to his side, followed by Nicole.  
  
"Oh my God! Get tha' hell outta' here!" Wilson's voice could be heard coming from the direction of the Corral. Sounds of footsteps and then Wilson and Phil came into everyone's sight. They were running full speed away from the Corral with fear all over their faces.  
  
"That fucka' just opened the fuckin' doors!" Phil yelled as he ran past the fallen men. "Frankenstein just let all of those damn things into the compound; we gotta get to the fuckin' barracks!"  
  
Ending Notes: Listen guys, I'm really sorry about this chapter. It's rushed and it's no good, I already know this. I just can't help but let my personal life interfere with my writings. I hope that everyone can forgive me for now because I will probably go back and do it again later. Also, I'd like to do something kind of fun with this chapter. If you decide to review tell me what you think will happen or what you want to happen. Might be fun. 


	10. The Opened Corral

Author's Notes: Is everyone still with me? Another special thanks to everyone that has read it this far and thank you for all the great reviews. Your support really does mean a lot to me and you guys get me through some really tough times. Things are settling between my parents, so that's good. Now, just so no one thinks that my writing is unbelievable, I feel that I should explain some things. I know that some of the actions of my characters are a little strange, but that is the cabin fever that everyone would experience. Spending that much time isolated in a small place would cause even the strongest minds to go crazy. Damn this site!!! It wont let me show a change of subject so you guys are on your own trying to figure it out. I'll go back and change it later, sorry. Now, on to the action!

Chapter 10

Phil and Wilson rushed past the small group of people with a speed that indicated fear. Both men had their weapons out and pointed behind them, their faces twisted with a look of terror.

Wilkers, along with the rest of the group, had no idea what they were shouting about. They all picked up on the fact that the Corral was open, but they said that Dr. Moran had done it. No one understood why he would do something like that.

Wilkers didn't care much what motive that the good doctor had, he just knew that he needed to get to safety somewhere. The first thing that came to him mind was the barracks at the opposite end of the compound.

He looked up to see that the three opposing members of the compound were already headed in that direction. Terry had an arm stretched around Scott's neck and he was helping him walk in a slow pace, and Nicole was already in a sprint to safety.

Wilkers wanted more than anything to pour a round or two into the men, but if the Corral was really open, he needed to save his ammunition. He tried to take his mind off of his bleeding shoulder as he brought himself to a stance and then took off behind Scott and Terry.

Phil and Wilson got to the barracks long before everyone else did. Kenneth stood there, in front of the closed door with a shotgun in his hand.

"Let us in!" They shouted as they approached the cold metal barrier.

Kenneth put his body in between them and the door. "No one goes in there." He had grown an enormous respect for Ana as well as a friendship and he knew that she'd been through a lot; he was going to protect her as best he could.

"You gotta let us in! Those things are on the loose!" Phil pleaded.

"There are plenty of other rooms that you can hold up in, now get outta here." He kept his cool as he spoke, and then he gave his shotgun a pump for looks.

Getting the message, Phil and Wilson walked the extra ten feet to the next set of barracks and rushed in with much haste.

The set up of the hall was that Ana's barracks were just across the hall from where Moran's room had been and just next door to Phil and Wilson's barracks. There was one more set just down from there that he could retreat back to if he needed.

Keeping his eyes focused on the dark and terrifying hallway, Kenneth brought his gun up in preparation for anything that might pop out without warning. Just that second, Wilkers came into the view, fear all over his face.

Kenneth automatically noticed the blood on his shoulder and recognized it as a gunshot wound. He couldn't help but show the pain on his face when he did the math and figured that Terry had failed and was now dead, Scott and Nicole probably with him.

"Its open, you gotta help me!" Wilkers put on his best fear face as he got closer to him.

"Where's Terry?" It was the only thing he could manage out of his mouth.

"I guess those things got him." It wasn't true, but he didn't figure that Kenneth would know the difference. "He hurt his leg and couldn't run. Scott was trying to help him when those things caught up to them. Nicole was ahead of me but she tripped and I was too scared to help her up. Please, you have to help!" He tried his best not to laugh at the fact that Nicole's trip was more due to the fact that Wilkers had hit her over the back of her head.

"That was tha wrong answer." He pointed his gun at Wilkers as he got closer. Sgt. Wilkers, having been trained well, drew his hand up and knocked the shotgun so that it pointed at the ground, and at the same time he pulled his own pistol.

Kenneth saw the gun coming up and, without another thought, he threw a power punch at the gunshot wound, causing a scream from Wilkers. The shout echoed down the hall for a long distance.

Terry and Scott could hear the sounds of footsteps and groans coming from not too far down the hall. Terry, who was in an almost blinding pain, spared a look over his shoulder down the hall to see that he could make out the moving silhouettes of the living-dead.

"Oh God, they're catching up." He said it as he turned his head back.

Scott did his best to pick up the pace, but his legs burned with fatigue from carrying the weights of two people. He pushed through the pain and ache, looking for that little bit of energy that every man has when his life is threatened. That little bit of go-get-em power had gotten him through some harsh situations in the past, but this was different.

"Who's that?" Terry shouted over the increasing volume of the moans behind him as he caught a glimpse of someone lying on the ground out in front of them. The closer they got the more obvious it got that the person was Nicole and she was unconscious.

"Jesus, I can't carry both of you." Scott said with what little air he had left in his lungs. He stopped over Nicole's body and he knew what had to be done. "Can you walk?" He said to Terry without looking at him.

"Maybe, I dunno." He already knew what Scott was planning, but it was crazy.

"If you can, you have to wake her up and help her to the barracks; I'll stay here and fight them off for as long as I can." He kept his blue eyes on her sweet face and a single tear started to form at the corner.

"That's stupid. You have to let me stay; you are faster and can get her there quicker."

"I can't let you do that. I'll be able to hold them off for long enough for you to make it back and then I'm fast enough to make it back myself." He knew he was lying but there wasn't anything else he could say. "Do you love her?" He turned his sparkling blues to him now.

"Yes, I do." Terry looked back and Scott and he knew that they didn't have much time.

"Then take care of her, she deserves it. Don't let anything happen to her."

"I wont." He brought his hand out and Scott shook it. "Bye."

Terry bent down and lifted Nicole up in a clumsy display of just how hurt he was. He put her on his bad side and put all of his weight on his good side, making him look very uncomfortable.

"Nicole!" He shouted her name as loud as he could as he took off down the hall. "You gotta wake up for me babe!"

Soon the voices of Terry started to disappear into the dark tunnel of cave and were replaced by the oncoming monsters. He pulled his pistol out and checked the clip. He had a total of twelve shots before he'd have to change over to his secondary weapon, which only had seven rounds, and then he'd have to go to his combat knife.

The silhouettes soon took more form and then they had faces. They were closing in fast and Scott knew in his heart that he wouldn't be walking away from this fight. He pulled the gun up and sighted it on the first monster in line.

"I might not make it outta this one, but neither will you asshole!" The terrified redhead pulled the trigger and watched the first creature fall over.

Kenneth and Wilkers were very evenly matched as far as training went, but Kenneth was a little slower and Wilkers was a bit weaker. Kenneth took a jab at Wilkers' face, but it was a miss due to a dodge that was as simple as moving down and to the left. Being in the near crouched position, Wilkers threw a power punch to Kenneth's solarplex, knocking the wind out of him.

Having Kenneth in a moment of weakness, Wilkers followed up with an uppercut that landed solid to his jaw. Blood instantly filled Kenneth's mouth and he spit it into Wilkers' face, getting some in his eyes. Moving on Wilkers' newfound blindness, Kenneth utilized his strength with a series of power punches to certain places that would cause great amounts of pain: the nose, the temple, the solarplex, and his gunshot wound.

In a matter of seconds, Wilkers was lying on his back, knocked out cold from the several blows. Kenneth bent over and picked up his shotgun, pointing it Wilkers' face.

"Boom." He whispered. "You're lucky that I'm too kind to shot a sleeping man." Just as the words escaped his mouth he spotted Terry and Nicole coming from down the hall.

"Come on you two!" He didn't bother to hide the happiness in his voice when he saw the two of them. "Where's Scott?"


	11. The Run

_Author's Notes:_ I'm actually really happy with the direction that this fic is going and I might decide to make it a little longer than I had originally planned. Something is wrong with , it won't let me show a change of subject, and I don't know how long it will be like this. I give an extended apology for this, but there really isn't anything I can do. For now my readers are just going to have to deal with it the same way that I am: bitch and moan even though you know nothing will happen, lol. On with the show!

**Chapter 11**

Scott only had six rounds left in his pistol before he would be forced to switch guns. The mob of ghouls larger than he thought it would be, and he knew that he'd be dead in a few minutes. He eased back on the trigger once more, sending a bullet straight into the brain of a lifeless monster. It collapsed to the ground instantly, tripping four others behind him.

There was a mass growing of dead monsters just about twenty feet in front of him. The group of non-walking dead people was only about six or seven compared to the twenty or thirty that were still rushing him. He guessed that there were at least a hundred or more of the beasts still in the Corral that hadn't found there way out yet due to it's massive size.

One of the monsters rushed at Scott with a speed he didn't know was possible and he had to think quickly to put one in his neck, sending the thing to the ground in sever seizers.

The problem with the plan that he'd come up with was that he wouldn't know when Terry and Nicole made it to the barracks, therefore he wouldn't know when he could turn and run. He knew that he could outrun all of the partially decayed people, he'd been on cross-country and ran track even before he joined the military.

An elderly woman in a Sunday morning dress came at him with a slow pace, dragging one leg behind her. Standing next to her, a man wore nothing but boxer shorts and tube socks pulled up to his knees. Both of the monsters were turning a gray color and their skin had started to crack from being pulled so tight. With every step they took, Scott could hear the tissue breaking and falling back into place.

Viewing the man as more of a threat due to his speed, he put a bullet between his eyes and then counted up how many more rounds he had. He totaled up with three left in that gun, so using his free hand he reached to the hidden holster that he had on his right foot. As he did so, he fired a shot into a child's shoulder, putting him into the shakes. He still couldn't make himself kill the little ones; they looked too much like real children.

"Scott!" He could hear Kenneth's shouts from far down the corridor. The sound echoed down the hall like a wave of sound; starting quite and slowly building its way up until it passes and then it starts to fade again into the crowd of monsters.

He wanted to turn around and see if the large man was standing behind him with his shotgun, ready to back him up, but he already knew that wasn't the reality of it. Kenneth was at the barracks still. He was there, safe for now.

"Yeah?" It was the only word he could manage just before he pulled the trigger on another mindless monster. The blast from the gun was like a slow strobe light or a flash of lightning. For just one instant it showed the long hall for what it was. When that flash came, Scott could see the snarling faces of people that had died and risen to eat. He could see the hunger set heavy in their eyes and he pitied them.

"Come on!" Those two words showed Scott that he'd done what he wanted to do. He protected Nicole and got her to safety, now it was his turn.

Using the last round in his gun to put down the old lady, Scott pulled his next weapon up. He had it sighted just in time to see Dr. Moran standing in the back of the group. The poor doctor was covered in blood and was naked. It made Scott wonder just how he ended up that way.

"I'll be there in a second." He fired a shot. "Get the door ready to barricade!" He shouted it out as loud as he could as he started to retreat back a few steps at a time. He didn't want to give the impression that he was fleeing because he thought that he might be able to loose them in the twisted corridor if he could surprise them with his run.

Being on his feet and not having a plan, Scott did the only thing he could think of. He pointed the gun at no one in particular and started to go trigger crazy. If he could manage to hit a few of the ones on the front row they would fall down and trip up a few that were behind them. It was the best he could come up with to give himself a better shot. Afterwards he was left with nothing but he speed and his combat knife that was sheathed on his wrist.

As soon as his last shot was fired, he turned around and took off in an all out sprint. He hadn't thought about the fact that his legs were still tired from carrying Terry. He still had a great deal of speed, but he wouldn't be able to hold it for long.

He listened to the sounds of moans and groans as they faded off and he knew that he'd lost them for the time being. As he ran he pulled out his knife with a little bit of trouble, just to be safe. The ground under him felt gritty and loose. The gravel had never felt that loose before, but then again he'd never been forced to run on it. The ground slowed him down a bit, but not enough to let the monsters catch up.

Just as he thought he'd be home free, he saw something come out of one of the off branching hallways. It was one of the monsters, but this one looked familiar. He didn't have any time to think before she knocked him to the ground, straddling him. Dr. Jones, or the former doctor, was biting at him with teeth that were overly exposed due to a lack of skin where her upper lip should have been.

She was, by far, the most terrifying of all the monsters. Her once pretty hair now had clumps of dried blood through out and was tangled beyond words, her clothes had been mangled and torn through, her upper lip was missing completely, her left eye was popped and leaking a white and red fluid, and she was covered in bite marks.

When she knocked him down she also knocked the knife from his hand. He had one hand on Dr. Jones' neck, keeping her at bay, and the knife was just out of his reach. He had his arm stretched out as far as it would go, but he just couldn't touch the only weapon he had.

He knew that every second he spent fighting Dr. Jones was another second that the monsters were getting closer and closer. He brought his foot up and placed it in Jones' stomach and, with all the force he could, he pushed her off and into a rock wall that was behind her. It wasn't long before she was back up on her feet and charging at Scott.

He scooted his body over, grabbed the knife, and looked over just in time to see Jones jump out at him. She landed in just about the same place that she had been in before; on top of him, one leg on each side of his body, biting at him with only his one hand on her neck keeping her from it.

He knew that only a headshot would kill her, but he couldn't get his arm up there without risking a bite, so he jabbed the knife up into the soft skin of her gut as hard as he could. He could feel the still warm blood pouring down his hand as the blade struck organs. Jones didn't even flinch.

He started to work the knife in and out and in circles, hoping to cause some kind of damage that would send her into those shaking spells. He felt the metal strike something hard, deep down inside of her. He assumed that it was her spine, so he worked around it, trying anything to get her off. He could hear the others coming to join and he knew he had to do something fast. He picked a spot on the long, hard cord and, with all his upper body strength, he pushed it in. He felt and heard a wet snap and she started to shake on top of him.

He knew that she'd lost all control over her motor functions and she wouldn't be a threat anymore, so he simply pushed her off and got up. He looked down at his forearm and took note of the amount of blood that was on him. The knife couldn't even be seen due to the massive globs of crimson blood. He decided that he better not spare it another thought and took then he took off down the hall again.

He could see the door and Kenneth outside, and he thought that the monsters wouldn't find them for a while. He figured that he bought them some time, just as he passed another stretch of hallway. Another familiar face popped out, but this one was less familiar. He knew it was the male subject that they had moved into Dr. Moran's room, but now he was out and just behind Scott.

"So much for gettin rid of the monsters." He said to himself as he ran up to Kenneth, who already had the shotgun up and pointed at the monster that was approaching.

"Where is everyone?" Scott asked in a rush.

Kenneth pulled the trigger, allowing an explosion at the end of the gun that left the monster with no head.

"Ana's in her room and it's lock up tight, Phil and Wilson are in that one," he pointed to one room just down from the one they were at, "and Terry and Nicole are in this one waiting for us."

"Where's Wilkers?"

"Terry is tying him up in there; he is our prisoner." Kenneth said the last part with a smile. "Now we own the silo."


	12. The Vents

_Author's Notes:_ I leave for the Army on August 29th, so I have a deadline. If I don't finish this story by that time, it will never get done. So I'm going to put out as many chapters as I can until I think that it is done. Special thanks to Panny for reviewing very quickly, lol.

**Chapter 12**

Scott and Kenneth quickly made their way into the room and started to move everything in front of the door. Kenneth took a guess and figured that the monsters would find them much quicker now because of the shotgun blast and the dead beast outside. They had to move with haste, there was no doubt about it.

Terry and Nicole were busy making the unconscious Wilkers comfortable in his chair. Using bed sheets and ripped up blankets, the couple tied him down using several, well made knots. He wouldn't be going anywhere for a while.

Scott and Kenneth were busy moving the bunk beds to block the door. The beds alone would hold off a large amount of people, and then the added bonus of locking the door made Kenneth feel safe for the time being.

"Now what are we supposed to do?" Nicole said as she tied the final knot. "Terry needs someone to look at that", she pointed at his gunshot wound.

Kenneth stopped to think about it, even though he knew she was right. They'd backed themselves into a hole and had no escape route. "We have to find a way to get into Ana's room so that she can look him over."

"How's that possible? Those things will get us right away if we step outside." Terry pointed out the obvious, but no one was going to call him on it. He had a gapping hole in his leg.

"The air duct." Scott said to himself as he turned his eyes to the ceiling. "The air vents run throughout the entire compound; we can get anywhere if we can up in there." The sound of his voice showed that he was exhausted, and with good reason.

All eyes in the room with the exception of Wilkers turned up to the ceiling, a small, square panel covered the vent opening.

"It'll be a tight fit, but most of yall can go through." Kenneth said as he looked around at everyone. "I think that Nicole and Terry should go over to Ana's room and see if she can't look him over. Tell her about the vents and see if she can come up with a plan. If yall come across Phil or Wilson, tell them that Wilkers got hurt by one of those things and he is out like a light."

Terry, who was sitting on the ground, looked over at Nicole. She was already looking at him with those sparkling blue eyes. He knew that he loved her and that he wasn't going to let anything that happened in the silo stand in the way of that.

"Nicole, would you go first?" Terry asked.

Kenneth was already stacking the four mattresses so he could reach the vent cover. Once stacked, he climbed up on top and began working with it until it popped off. "You're up." He held his hand out to her and she took it, letting him help her up onto the mattresses.

"I'm gonna hold you up and you're gonna climb your way in. Try to keep your body weight distributed evenly and move slowly. If you feel yourself starting to get panicked, just slow down, stop, take ten deep breaths and then start moving again. If you think you can't go on anymore, call back to us and start moving backwards at a nice, slow pace."

She nodded and then looked down at Terry. He looked vulnerable, like a small child that had been hurt playing football. His face showed that he had seen more and felt more in the silo than he had in his entire life outside.

She gave the words and Kenneth propped her up by her butt, lifting her in slowly.

"Scott, I want to tell you something." Terry said as he tried to stand. Scott moved over and gave him a hand. "I wouldn't have really shot you, I was just playing along so that I could fool Wilkers."

Scott looked at him for a second and decided that speaking wasn't what Terry needed at the moment.

"I hate you for what you did with Nicole," Terry said the words and watched Scott's eyes get large "but as long as we are here we need to make friends so that we can get through this." He held his hand out to him. Scott took it and gave it a firm shake.

"I'm ready, Kenneth."

Kenneth reached down and pulled Terry up onto the stack, and, in one quick movement, he had him up into the vents.

* * *

Ana lay on a bed mattress, dreaming about Michael. She had been having the same dream night and night again. In every dream she saw Michael's face for the last time, watched him pull the gun up to his head, and...

Just that second she was woken up by a large banging in the ceiling. Hey eyes jumped open and darted to the vent cover, which was falling to the floor. Nicole's smiling face appeared in the hole and it was a welcome sight.

"Nicole? What's going on out there?" Ana jumped up, trying to erase the dream of Michael from her head.

The lovely redhead was already making her way out of the vent and into her room. She filled her in on what had happened and what was going on. She recited what Kenneth had told her to say and, just as she was finishing, Terry poured out of the vent as well.

"Let me have a look at this." Ana switched into nurse mode as she looked Terry's leg over. "It missed the bone, which is a plus. All we have to do is try to stop the bleeding and keep it clean." Easier said that done.

Ana went to work cutting the bed sheets to get some makeshift bandages and then she was off tying his leg off. "Try to keep pressure on this as much as possible and tell me when the bandage is of no use anymore."

"Do you have any idea on what we should do?" Nicole said. Just as the words exited her mouth she heard a loud band on the metal door. The first of the monsters to find out where they were. For just a moment it reminded them all of being at Crossroads.

"Well, you say that these vents run through the entire silo?" Nicole nodded. "Have you talked to Kenneth about trying to get to a weapons cliche or maybe about trying to find a way to the surface?" She shook her head no. "I'm gonna go up and over to talk to Kenneth myself. Nicole, would you keep an eye on Terry and make sure that he doesn't fall asleep?"

She smiled innocently, blushed a little and looked over at Terry. "Sure."

((_Author's Notes:_ Probably one of the more boring chapters, but I wanted to establish that the group still has a way to move around. But, as we all know, when there are zombies just outside your door distasters are sure to happen. What do you think could possibly go wrong? Tell me when you reivew!))


	13. The Makeup

**Author's Notes:** I won't be leaving! The Army tried to screw me over and it is a long story, but in the end I told them to shove it and I left. They obviously didn't know whom they were messing with! What does this mean for all my readers? I'll tell you! It means more chapters more chapters more chapters! I don't know if you can tell that I'm happy that I'm not leaving. This chapter is going to be a short one, but it is just to get these author's notes out there.

**Chapter 13**

Terry looked up at Nicole from his sitting position on the bed mattress. Her eyes beamed down upon him with a grace and beauty that he'd never seen before. Everything that had happened in the compound faded away to nothing more than a bad dream as he started to fall head over heels for her again.

Locks of silky, red hair fell into her sparkling blue eyes, and it almost looked planned. Being the innocent looking girl that she was, Nicole had no idea that she was driving Terry crazy with her sex appeal. With a harmless bite on her lip and a flick of her hair, she won him over once again and he starved for the touch of her skin.

In one wave of feelings and memory Terry realized just how long it had been since he'd even kissed Nicole. Watching Scott and Nicole do those things on tape had hurt Terry because they had never even made love, but looking at her now he didn't care. All he could think about was his love, and now growing lust for her.

He tried to pull himself to his feet so that he could give her a kiss, but a string of pain shot up his leg so intense that it brought a tear to his eye. He'd almost forgotten about the bullet wound, but he was quickly reminded.

Seeing the pain in his face, Nicole rushed to his side to see if she could do anything. Putting much haste into her step, she tripped over her own feet and fell forward, toppling onto Terry.

They ended up lying on the bed together in the same fashion that they'd done countless times at the mall. She was laying half on him and half to his side with one hand on his chest. She could feel his heavy breathing and strong pulse, and she smiled at the position. She had one leg draped up and over his legs, barley missing the wound.

Both of them smiled as the realized just how comfortable they felt with each other. Before they met each other the world was one way and afterwards everything got turned upside down. It was all they could do to not go crazy, but they had no choice other than to live in the world of chaos. Laying there with each other it didn't matter. Everything seemed right when she was in his arms, as if that was the way it was supposed to be.

She leaned in to give him a soft kiss on his tender lips and he could feel her whole body tremble with pleasure. That one kiss made life worth living, and that was all there was to it. Things could get better or worse, but that kiss would always be there.

She leaned over and threw her body so that she was straddling his body. She arched her back to bring her lips to his once again, though this kiss had more passion and lust behind it. He placed both of his hands up on her face and then ran his fingers through her hair.

In between kisses he whispered, "I love you." With the sound of his words she smiled and placed another sweet and wonderful kiss on his lips.

Her body began to move back and forth on his, sending lines of pleasure up and down her body. She brought her hands down and lifted the bottom of her shirt up and over her head, exposing her perfectly shaped body.

The baby blue bra that she wore just made her pale skin look even more beautiful and delicate. She brought her body down to press it against his, feeling the warmth and excitement that he gave off. A mutual smile was given just before he placed his lips on hers for a kiss with such passion and love that it left Nicole breathless.

She reached down and undid the top button of his pants so that she could see the top of his boxers.

Terry grinned when he realized what was going to happen there in that room, and Nicole could feel his eagerness for it.

"I love you, babe," he said.

"I love you, sweetheart," she responded.

(Author's Notes: This was a really short chapter, but I had reasons for putting this one in. I wanted to get more touchy with the characters and show emotion between them as opposed to just having a horror story and I wanted to get a chapter out quick so that my readers would know that I'm not leaving and that there will be more chapters to come.)


	14. The Information

(_Author's Notes_: Yes, I am still alive. I have had the worst case of writer's block that the world has ever seen. I looked at the story that I've been writing and realized that I was trying to draw it out longer than it should have been. I'm going to wrap it up in the next few chapters so that my readers will have a conclusion to the story. I hope you all enjoy!)

**Chapter 14**

Wilkers' eyes unhurriedly parted as he was pulled from his dream world. It was the first time that he realized that he was tied up, but he was still too groggy to do anything about it. He blinked a few times, trying to get the sleep out of his eyes, and then he looked around the room as if trying to access the situation. In one nauseating wave, he realized that he'd lost control of the compound and Kenneth was now in command.

The large man was sitting on the ground with his back leaned against the far wall from Wilkers. The room's furniture had been pushed against the door, and it reminded him that the monsters were loose outside.

The restraints that held him down were tied tight, but Wilkers was sure enough that given some time he'd be able to get them loose.

"G'mornin Sunshine." Kenneth broke the silence of the room.

"What tha fuck is goin on?" He wanted to shout, he wanted to scream, but there was no fight in him at the moment. He'd taken a mighty beating from Kenneth and his body ached all over.

"How badly do you wanna live, Wilkers?" Kenneth kept his eyes calm and cool, but there was something brewing underneath them. Something primal was reaching the surface and Wilkers recognized it as the will to survive. Once an individual reaches a certain point they will do nearly anything to live; things they never thought they'd be able to do.

"What are you gonna do?"

Just as the words escaped his lips, Ana's legs escaped from the vents, the rest of her body following not far behind. She landed on the bed mattresses with a soft plop, and then her eyes went to the conscience Wilkers.

"Ana, you can't let him hurt me!" It was a finally resort that he figured would be unsuccessful, but it didn't hurt to try. At the moment there was nothing he could do sort of scooting his chair, but even that was limited.

Ana's curious eyes turned to Kenneth, but he didn't look at her. Those cold eyes were saved for just one man.

"What's he talking about, Kenneth?" Ana's voice was a little nervous.

He broke the smallest of smiles and he responded. "He knows a way outta here. I know he does. I can't let him die with that secret and I am going to get it out of him one way or another." The words were just as much for Wilkers as they were for Ana. It was one final threat before he proceeded to get the information.

"Kenneth, if you are talking about torturing him I wont stand for it!" Ana's face went cold and stern as she stepped in front of Wilkers. "There has got to be another way."

He looked at her for a second, and then his eyes went to her stomach as if her was looking right though her at the man that sat behind her.

"You were all right with the idea of killing him." It was a cold statement that rung true in her ears. She didn't like the sound of it, but truth is truth.

"Killing and torturing aren't the same and you know it."

"I agree with her." Wilkers piped in his two cents.

"Shut up!" Kenneth's cool streak broke and the words seemed to bounce off the walls as if they were a solid object. The words themselves were all that demanding, but the tone that rode with them was more than enough to make Wilkers go silent.

Kenneth's eyes went up to Ana's and there was a plea to them that she hadn't seen before. He words came out in a calculated manner, much like the words of a person that was trying to not cry. She couldn't picture Kenneth being much of a crier, but then again looking at the situation that she was in she didn't know of many people that wouldn't cry at least once. "I am not going to die in this place."

He looked around the dimly lit room and he knew that he was not going to let that be his final resting-place. The cold, gray walls that carried long, drawn out shadows and the hard, empty floor made his body shiver.

Ana realized in that moment that Kenneth was suffering just as much as everyone else, if not more. Maybe she hadn't realized it before because he was a very good actor and was skilled in hiding emotions, but it hit her with a sudden force that he was claustrophobic. His mask broke for just a few seconds, but it was long enough. The look of fear on his face showed through and it was too much for Ana to take. He'd been the strong one through the whole ordeal, and she didn't want to seem him fall apart.

She gave him a quick nod and headed back to the vent.

It wasn't long before she was up and out of the room and then there were just two men. Kenneth stood up and closed the distance between them very slowly.

"Wilkers, you know you can prevent this. All you have to do is tell me what your escape plan was. Just let me know, and nothing has to happen."

The fallen commander seriously considered it as he looked at the towering man. His large presence was more than intimidating all by itself, but when put with those threatening words it was almost too much to take.

"Rot in hell mother fucker..." He kept his voice quiet, but the words were loud enough for Kenneth to hear.

* * *

Ana had heard the screams, and she knew her nightmares would be haunted by them for the rest of her life. Hearing a grown man cry for help to deaf ears is something that most people don't have to experience, but Ana, Nicole, Terry, Wilson, and Phil would forever know what that was like. They'd never know what Kenneth did to Wilkers, and they'd never ask. 

Ana had visited Phil and Wilson to make sure they were doing all right. She'd found out that Phil was actually a very nice guy and had been a family man before all of this. He still carried a photo of his wife and kids, though he didn't talk about them. Wilson didn't talk much, but he seemed all right to her.

After about thirty minutes with them she went up and over to Nicole and Terry's and stayed there until she heard Wilkers' screams stop. Shortly after she heard Kenneth's bellowing yell come across the vents.

"I got it." His voice was echoed due to the metal walls of the shaft, and it gave it an eerie feel and sound. He made it sound as if it had been an easy task. An hour of screams had showed everyone differently. "There is a helicopter here in the compound."


End file.
